The Little Alchemist
by Mei-chan4
Summary: The Elric Brothers meet a young boy named Caden while searching for the Philosopher's Stone. Caden joins them on their journey, trying to find answers to his family's murder. Without realizing it, Caden becomes entangled in the military's dark secrets.
1. The Fake and a New Companion

**Hello and Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you had a fabulous holiday season! **

**For those of you that read my other stories, this is the twelfth series in the Baby Universe. For those of you that are new, I hope you will enjoy this story!**

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Caden was tired, hungry, and more importantly, lost. Well, he thought to himself, maybe being hungry was more important than being lost. His stomach seemed to agree with that conclusion. His sharp brown eyes squinted against the bright sunlight as he looked about the town for somewhere he could eat.

"Hey, kid, are you lost?" A young woman smiled warmly as she approached Caden.

Immediately, Caden put on his best puppy dog eyes and began sniffling. "Yes ma'am. I'm really hungry but I don't have any money."

The woman smiled and patted his messy blonde hair down. "Don't worry. I'll help you. We'll get you fed and then we'll find your mommy. I'm Rose, by the way."

"Thanks, Rose-neesan!" Caden grinned up at her as she took his hand. "I'm Caden." Caden hummed to himself as Rose led him down the winding streets. He stopped when he heard a loud commotion coming from up ahead.

"Oh my." Rose said softly before tugging Caden over to an outside stand that said 'Food'. "You seem rather busy today."

Caden peered curiously at the two people standing beside the food stand. One was rather tall and clothed in a full suit of armor. The other, much shorter male had blonde hair in a braid and sharp golden eyes. Caden stared at them for another moment before looking down at the ground and noticing the Alchemy circle. His eyes lit up and he let go of Rose's hand. "Are you guys Alchemist?"

The shorter one's chest seemed to puff up as he nodded. "We're the Elric brothers."

Caden's eyes widened. "No way! So, you're the famous Fullmetal Alchemist?" Caden rushed over to the one dressed in armor and grabbed his hand. "You're so cool!"

"Um, I'm not the Fullmetal Alchemist. I'm Alphonse Elric, the younger brother." Alphonse answered softly. "My older brother, Edward Elric, is the Fullmetal Alchemist."

Caden blinked, looking dubiously over at Edward. He looked back at Al, a frown on his face. "But, he's so short."

Al immediately scooped Caden up and held him high in the air while Edward screamed furiously at the child. "Hey, go easy on him. He's just a kid."

Edward glowered up at the little boy. "That's no excuse! He should respect his elders!"

Caden stuck his tongue out at Edward. "I'll respect you when you grow another foot." He grinned as Edward began shouting angrily again.

"Caden, shouldn't we go find your mother?" Rose asked.

"Oh, no." Caden said as Al finally lowered him to the ground. He put on the happiest grin he could muster. "My mom's dead. I'm trying to get to East City. My cousin lives there. I'll stay with these guys."

Rose nodded hesitantly before smiling at them. "May Leto bless you!" She called before rushing off.

Caden blinked as he felt someone roughly poking him in the head. He turned around, swatting Edward's hand away. "Stop that."

Edward glowered down at the little boy. "Who said you could stay with us?"

"I did." Caden answered, as though it were obvious. "You're a state alchemist, aren't you? That means you'll be going where my cousin is eventually. I just want to tag along until then. Besides, I can help you guys investigate this Father Cornello character."

Intrigued, Edward crouched down in front of Caden. "You mean the guy that's been rambling over the radio for an hour now?"

Caden nodded his head. "Yeah. I've been here for a couple days now and I've heard people talking about him. Apparently, he claims to have the power of miracles and the ability to raise the dead." Caden beamed as Edward mulled over the information. "So, can I come with you guys? I promise I won't get in the way. Besides, I wanna see the Fullmetal Alchemist in action!"

Al sighed at the way Edward's chest puffed up. "You seem to really like alchemy, Caden."

Caden grinned as he began walking away, leading the two towards the church. "Yup. I've read lots of books about alchemy. I want to become an alchemist!"

"You're really hyper." Edward muttered as the trio quietly entered the church. It seemed they had just missed the main congregation as all the pews were completely empty. Edward sighed and plopped down on one of the front pews. "So, what's a kid doing out here all by himself?"

Caden glanced over from the giant Leto statue, his grin never leaving his face. "My dad was murdered and my mom's dead. The only other family I have is my cousin. She lives in East City so I'm going to see if she'll let me stay with her. Otherwise, I'll have to go to an orphanage."

Edward was about to say something more when Rose came into the room. Her face lit up when she saw the three of them. "Are you three interested in joining the Church of Leto?"

"Nah," Edward answered. "I'm not really a religious person."

Rose frowned. "That's not good! If you have faith, you'll definitely grow taller!"

Caden laughed as Alphonse had to hold Edward back from pummeling the oblivious girl. He tuned out a majority of the conversation, instead looking up curiously at the statue of the Sun God, Leto. Flashes of fire ran through his mind, his mother was screaming, his father was fighting some unknown enemy, and the monster…

"Hey, Caden, we're going to check out this Father Cornello's 'miracle' powers." Alphonse said gently. "Want to come?"

Caden snapped himself from his stupor and grinned up at Alphonse. "Yeah, sure." He followed the two alchemist out of the church, trying his best to ignore Edward staring at him. "What?"

Edward looked at Caden for another moment before shrugging. "Nothing." He frowned as they were at the back of a large group. Muttering angrily to himself, Edward stood on top of his suitcase in order to better see Father Cornello.

Caden stood on his tiptoes and jumped up in down, vainly trying to see over all the ridiculously tall people. He couldn't help the squeak that came out of his mouth as cold metal hands picked him up. "Thanks, Al." He said sheepishly as Alphonse placed him on his shoulder so the little boy could see better. Caden watched in interest as Father Cornello turned a tiny poppy flower into a huge sunflower. "He didn't even use a transmutation circle. So, he really is just an alchemist."

Edward nodded, frowning thoughtfully. "Yeah, it's alchemy no matter how you look at it."

"What about the laws, though?" Alphonse asked.

"Oh, you three did come to see him!" Rose smiled as she came over to the group. "This proves that he has miraculous powers and is the Sun God's child."

Edward sighed in annoyance. "Nope. That's alchemy no matter how you look at it. He's a fraud."

Caden kicked his legs against the front of Alphonse's armor and blinked when he heard a hollow sound. "But how can he bypass the laws?"

"That's the problem." Edward groaned in frustration.

Rose blinked and looked curiously at the three. "The Laws?"

"Alchemy can't create things out of thin air." Caden explained. "Something new can only be created from something of the same substance. It's called 'equivalent exchange' in alchemy. In other words," he continued when he saw the blank stare Rose was giving him. "if something new is to be created, something of equal value must be given in exchange."

Edward nodded approvingly. "You've really studied, Kid." He just missed the wide grin that split across Caden's face at the praise. "That old guy is making too much out of too little. He's basically breaking the law."

"See?" Rose smirked, sure she had defeated Edward's alchemy logic. "that proves he has miraculous powers."

Alphonse and Edward exchanged meaningful looks, leaving Caden rather confused. They seemed to know something he didn't.

Edward suddenly put on a bright smile and turned to Rose. "Hey, I'm really starting to get interested in this religion! Can you take us to his Holiness?"

Caden blinked as Rose squealed excitedly and led them back to the church. "He's lying, isn't he?"

Alphonse sighed and nodded. "Caden, it may be better for you to stay here where it's safe. We'll come get you when everything is all finished up."

"No way!" Caden exclaimed, latching onto Alphonse's helmet. "I wanna know what's going on to. Besides, Edward might try and sneak away without me."

Alphonse couldn't find another argument to void Caden's. "Just stay close to Edward and me." He placed Caden back on his shoulder and jogged to catch up with Rose and Edward.

Rose spoke quickly to one of Father Cornello's attendants who disappeared and returned moments later, motioning the group to follow him. Edward glanced up at Caden. "So, what's your cousin like?"

Caden shrugged, looking nervously at the two additional people that began following them. "I don't know. I've never met her before. The only reason I even know about her is when they were trying to see if I had any extended family for me to stay with. She's all they could find. She works for the military."

Edward was about to ask who it was when they were led into a small room, the doors shut behind them.

The man that had led them into the room continued facing away from them. "His Holiness is a very busy man. You two were very lucky to be able to get an audience with him."

Edward put on his best smile. "We'll try not to take up too much of his time."

Caden screamed as the man turned around with a gun in his hand and blew Alphonse's head off. The loud crack of the gun rang through Caden's left ear and he fell off of Alphonse's body. His ear was ringing and it took him a moment to reorient himself. When he finally managed to sit up, he saw that Edward had been forced to his knees by the two men that had followed them, the poles they had been holding trapped his head. Caden blinked as he found himself suddenly face to face with a gun barrel. He scrambled away until his back hit the wall.

"Brother Crory, what are you doing?" Rose shouted in alarm.

"Rose," Brother Crory said patiently. "these people are heathens who wish to destroy his Holiness. They are evil."

Rose shook her head. "His Holiness would never allow this."

Brother Crory smirked. "But he did allow this. His words are the orders of God. This is the will of God." He cocked the gun and pointed it right between Caden's eyes.

"He doesn't sound like a very nice God."

Caden didn't know what to do. There was no way what was happening in front of him was possible. Despite Alphonse's head being blown off, Alphonse's body was not only standing up and holding onto the gun, but the headless body was talking as well. Caden sat on the ground dumbfounded as the Elric brothers dealt with the three men easily enough.

"Are you okay, Caden?" Alphonse asked as he put his head back on.

"Where's your body, Al?" Caden asked, not even fighting Alphonse helping him to stand.

Alphonse was quiet for a moment. "It's what happens when you commit the greatest sin, when you trespass into God's domain. Both my brother and I did and we were punished for it."

"Save that story for later." Edward muttered, dusting his jacket off. "Caden you stay here. Rose, do you have the courage to face the truth of this man you believe to be holy?"

"I'm not staying here!" Caden stamped his foot for emphasis and glowered at Edward.

Edward glared right back for a moment while Alphonse helped Rose to hide in his suit of armor. Finally, Edward sighed and straightened up. "You're one stubborn kid."

"Takes one to know one." Caden retorted, following close behind Alphonse. They walked in silence until they reached the room Rose had told them Cornello could usually be found in. He jumped back when the door opened slightly on its own.

"Scared?" Edward teased, a huge grin on his face.

"No way!" Caden rushed into the room before either Edward or Alphonse could enter. He jumped yet again as the door slammed closed but this time, Edward made no comment. He looked forward to see the reason why was because Father Cornello was standing there, staring down at them from a staircase.

"Welcome to the Church of Leto." Father Cornello said, a warm smile on his face. "Have you come to hear me preach?"

Edward smirked while Alphonse made sure Caden stayed close behind him. "Of course. I'd love to hear how you deceived all those people with your third rate alchemy."

Father Cornello's smile never wavered. "Why, whatever do you mean? My miracles are not alchemy. If you could just see one of them…"

"We already have." Caden cut in. "How'd you do it without following the laws?" Caden blinked as Edward put a heavy hand on his head.

"We don't need him to tell us that, because I've already figured it out." Edward said with a smirk. "He's got the Philosopher's Stone. In fact, I do believe it's in that ring you're always wearing, isn't it?"

For the first time, Father Cornello seemed nervous. Then, his smirk returned. "You are correct."

Edward's smirk was still in place, but there was a wild look in his eyes. "I've been looking for that for a long time."

Caden looked up at Alphonse for answers but all he got in response was Alphonse shaking his head.

"What do you want the stone for?" Cornello sneered down at Edward.

"That's none of your business." Edward answered. "What about you? What did you gain from founding a phony religion? Money? Fame?"

Cornello waved his hand dismissively. "It's not about the money. I get all I need from my lovely little flock. What I really need are followers that would happily lay down their lives for me." A crazy look came over Cornello's face. "Soon, I'll have an invincible army of loyal followers that don't fear death! Within a few years, I'll have complete control of this country!"

Edward sighed and rolled his eyes. "That's all well and fine, but I don't really care."

Cornello was taken aback for a moment. "You should care! You're a part of the military, aren't you?"

"You know, I really don't care about the country or the military." Edward answered. "Just give me the Philosopher's Stone and I won't tell anyone about the scam you're pulling here."

Cornello cackled. "My followers will never believe the words of an outsider like you! They all love and worship me! They think my words are from God himself! I've got these idiots completely fooled and there's nothing you can do about it!"

"He sure talks a lot." Caden muttered.

Edward grinned over at Caden. "But, wasn't it nice of him to tell us how he's done everything? Sure, they'll never believe us, but I'm sure they'll believe her." Edward's grin widened as Alphonse removed the metal chest plate to reveal Rose hiding inside him.

Caden barely had time to move out of the way as Rose hopped out of Alphonse, her face a mixture of hurt, confusion, and anger. "Is she going to kill him?"

"You've been fooling us this whole time?" Rose screamed angrily. "You can't grant my wish with God's powers? You can't bring my darling back?"

Cornello's nervous face suddenly melted away to be replaced by his cool and calm mask. "While it's true I'm not God's emissary, with this stone, Rose, I can resurrect your boyfriend."

"Rose, don't listen to him." Alphonse pleaded.

"Come here now, Rose." Cornello said calmly.

"I bet he's lying, Rose!" Caden grabbed at Rose's hand, though she brushed him away.

Rose hesitated for only a moment before walking towards Cornello. "I'm sorry, you three." She whispered. "This is the only choice I can make."

Caden glared at her. "You're an idiot. Dead people are supposed to stay dead. No matter how much you want them back, they're dead. You're just going to cause more people pain and suffering because of your stupidity."

Edward stared at the furious looking child for a moment. He didn't get a chance to ask Caden anything because the sound of a large metal door groaning open drew his attention. He sighed when he saw the rather intimidating looking chimera appear from the shadows and stand between the trio and Cornello. "This one won't be easy to play with empty-handed." Edward clapped his hands together. "Caden, stay close to Alphonse. You want to see the Fullmetal Alchemist in action, right?"

Caden nodded slowly, pulling himself from his anger and scooting back behind Alphonse. He hadn't meant to let all that slip out. Surely now, Edward and Alphonse would question him relentlessly. His eyes widened as Edward placed his hands on the ground and pulled a metal spear from the ground. "That's so cool! He didn't even need a transmutation circle!"

Alphonse sighed and picked Caden up, placing him back on his shoulders. "It'll be safer for you up here."

The spear didn't last long as the chimera's claws sliced through the lower part of the spear and tore open Edward's left pant leg. Caden expected to see blood gushing from the wound, but all he saw was the gleam of metal. "Is that an automail leg?"

Alphonse nodded. "Yes."

Caden watched as the chimera lunged towards Edward and clamped down on his right arm. When the chimera was unable to bite off Edward's arm, Caden's eyes widened. "His right arm too?"

Edward kicked the chimera in the jaw, forcing it to let go of his jacket. "Look, Rose! This is what happens when you use alchemy on humans. This is what happens to sinners who pass into God's domain. He tore off his ruined jacket to reveal a full automail arm. He turned angry eyes to Cornello. "Come down here and fight me, you third-rate moron. I'll show you there's no comparison between the two of us."

"Alphonse, what happened to you and Edward?" Caden asked softly.

Alphonse was silent again for a while. "We wanted to bring our mother back to life. The whole reason we started alchemy was to bring her back. The resurrection failed. My brother had his left leg taken as a result and I lost my whole body. I lost consciousness for a while but when I woke up, I was in this suit of armor and all I saw was my brother bleeding. Even after the horrible injury of losing his left leg, my brother sacrificed his right arm to put my soul into this suit of armor."

"Rose," Edward said. "the two of us tried to resurrect just one person and look what happened. Are you ready to make this kind of sacrifice?"

Alphonse glanced over at Caden. The boy had been oddly silent the whole time. He was surprised to see that Caden was in fact crying. "Caden?"

Caden quickly wiped the tears from his eyes. "It's nothing." He answered.

Cornello laughed as he sneered down at them. "So, you want the Philosopher's Stone in order to successfully resurrect your mother."

Edward rolled his eyes. "Nope. We just want to get our original bodies back. Now, give us the Philosopher's Stone."

Cornello held his cane up and changed it into a machine gun. "You two came to close to God and then fell back to the Earth. Allow me to send you back to him!"

Caden clung tightly to Alphonse's head, steeling himself for the pain of bullets pelting his body. When nothing happened, he cracked his eyes open to find Edward had put up a shield using the floor.

"Sorry, but God doesn't like me very much." Edward sneered. "Even if you sent me to him, he'd just kick me out."

"What about the devil?" Caden asked. He blinked as Alphonse put him down and rushed over to Rose to pick the girl up. Caden remained close to Edward as the eldest Elric brother rushed towards the door.

"Fools, only I can open that door!" Cornello shouted.

Edward clapped his hands together again before placing them on the wall, creating his own door. "Caden, stay close to Alphonse, okay?"

"Okay." Caden answered, running alongside Alphonse while Edward led the way. "Does he know where he's going?"

"Probably not." Alphonse answered as they came up to a group of Cornello's men.

Caden shuddered at the demonically gleeful look that crossed Edward's face as he turned his automail arm into a scythe and cut down the men in their way. "He's scary…"

Alphonse nodded as he kicked another man standing in their way in the face. "Yes, he is."

They hadn't been running for long when Edward stumbled across what looked like an office. "What room is this?"

Rose breathed a sigh of relief as Alphonse finally put her down. "This is the broadcasting room where Father Cornello delivers his sermons."

"Alphonse, he's making the scary face again." Caden whispered as he stared nervously at Edward.

"All right, you three go get the bell from the top of the church. I'll stay here and deal with Cornello."

"I wanna stay with you, Edward." Caden said stubbornly. "I want to see you beat that moron up."

Edward sighed. "Fine. Just don't get in the way."

Caden sat in the large plush chair behind the desk while Edward sat directly on the desk. "Hey, Caden," Edward asked after a moment. "why were you crying earlier?"

Caden stiffened. "I don't know. I guess I just thought it was really sad what you guys went through."

Before Edward could say anything else, Cornello came running into the room. Edward put on his best bored face. "Will you just give it up? News of your deceit is going to spread through the town soon enough."

Cornello glared at Edward as he stepped into the room. "Shut up! Everyone in this church is directly under my control! They'd never believe one stupid follower if she contradicted me!"

"It's rude to use people like that, you know." Caden piped up, leaning on the desk.

"Followers are just pawns to use for war." Cornello hissed. "I have no time to feel sorry for pawns. If I tell them to die for me, they'll do it happily, believing they are doing God's will!" Cornello continued ranting, missing the smirk on Edward's face. "I'll be able to create more and more pawns out of the fools that cannot tell the difference between alchemy and miracles! You are the fools for underestimating the power of blind faith!"

Edward and Caden looked at each other before laughing hysterically. "He's really an idiot, isn't he, Edward?"

Edward nodded. He held up a simple control that had an on/off switch set in the on position. "You know what this is, Third-Rate Baldy?"

Cornello squinted for a moment before his eyes widened in horror, realizing that was the switch for the microphone. "How long has that switch been on?"

"From the very beginning." Edward sang. "You just revealed your entire plan. Caden," He looked over at the little boy still sitting behind the desk. "you want to see the difference between a first-rate alchemist and a third-rate one?"

Caden nodded, tearing his eyes away from where Cornello was once again turning his cane into a machine gun.

"Too slow!" Edward leapt forward, turning his automail arm into a blade, easily destroying the gun.

Cornello snarled. "I won't give up! As long as I have this stone, I can…!" He had begun to turn the destroyed gun into a cannon when a bright light flashed.

Caden's eyes widened in horror as the gun seemed to have become a grotesque part of Cornello's arm. Pieces of metal stuck out everywhere and Caden had to cover his ears as Cornello screamed. "Was that a rebound?"

Edward grabbed the front of Cornello's shirt and headbutted him. "Shut up! It's just a rebound! Let me see your stone!"

Before Cornello could move to do anything, the red stone in his ring cracked and broke, falling out of its setting.

"Is it supposed to do that?" Caden asked hesitantly, seeing the devastated look on Edward's face as said alchemist slumped to the ground. Caden went over to Edward's side and poked him in the head. "Are you okay?"

Edward brushed Caden away. "First, you lied to the townspeople, then you tried to kill us, and now, after all this trouble you put me through, the stone is a fake?"

Caden stepped back beside the desk as the room seemed to fill up with alchemic energy. His eyes widened as a large stone hand appeared through the floor, the hand in a tight fist. "Wow, you brought up the statue of Leto from downstairs." Caden whistled.

"Feel God's wrath!" Edward snarled as he brought the giant fist of the statue down within inches of Cornello, causing the old man to fain from shock.

"Edward, are you okay?" Caden asked tentatively.

"I will be." Edward muttered as Rose and Alphonse rushed into the room.

Alphonse first went over to Caden, making sure the little boy was okay. "So, the stone was a fake?"

"Yup." Edward sighed as he dusted his clothes off. "Looks like we're back to square one."

Rose sat on the floor, dumbfounded. "What am I supposed to do now? They told me they could bring him back to life. Tell me what I'm supposed to do!" She shouted at Edward and Alphonse, tears streaming down her cheeks. "What am I supposed to believe in now?"

"You need to figure that out on your own." Edward answered as he and Alphonse began walking away. "Stand up and walk, keep moving forward. At least you have two strong legs to carry you."

Caden hovered by the desk, unsure what to do.

Edward glanced over his shoulder and frowned. "Hey, Caden, you coming?"

Caden blinked before a grin split his face. He ran forward to catch up to the two. "You're really going to let me come with you guys? Hey, Edward, will you teach me alchemy? I wanna be just like you when I get bigger…well, except I want to be taller."

Alphonse scooped Caden up before Edward could throttle him. "This is going to be a long trip if you two keep fighting."

"He started it!" Edward whined. He quickly composed himself. "So, Caden, what's your cousin's name anyways? We might know her."

Caden had to think for a moment. "Oh, it's Riza. Riza Hawkeye."


	2. The Mining Town

**Yay! I'm so glad you all liked the first chapter! I hope you will all continue to enjoy this story to the very end!**

**Sakura02: Well, Boy Wonder, I think he's probably six or seven. I think he seems more mature because he's been on his own for a bit now since his parents death.**

**Thank you: animeXbooksXmanga, InsaneArtist96, BlackRosario, Koton, Yuri 'Ziako' Mitsudallia, SaiyukiSucker, Princesa de la Luna, hinatablueeyes708, Icealeena, Lilting, and ToraKU for reviewing!**

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"Nope, start over." Edward said.

Caden groaned and glared down at the paper that he had drawn a transmutation circle on. "What's wrong with it now? It looks fine to me."

Edward tapped one of the edges. "It's not an exact circle. It has to be exact. If not, you could get a pretty nasty rebound. Now, draw it again."

"Fine." Caden grumbled as he flipped the page over and started drawing another one. He glanced up and looked around the train. They were the only passengers. "I wonder where everyone else is."

Edward shrugged as he looked at his map. "I guess this area isn't big on tourism."

"Where are we going?" Alphonse asked, watching Caden carefully draw the transmutation circle.

"It's a town at the eastern border; the Youswell Coal Mines." Edward answered.

They arrived at the station shortly after and departed the train. Caden looked around and frowned at how quiet it was, despite all the people working. "I wonder if something's wrong."

Alphonse looked around as well. "Everyone here seems rather tired."

Edward was about to say something when he was smacked across the back of the head by a large board. He sat up as quickly as possible and began shouting furiously at the young boy that had been carrying said board.

"Oh, sorry about that…" The boy's voice trailed off as he stared at the three. His eyes suddenly lit up in excitement as he got rather close to Edward's face. "You guys are from out of town, aren't you? Are you on a trip? Where are you from? Do you need something to eat? A place to stay?" He turned from Edward then. "Dad, we've got customers!"

"Hey, would you let me answer before you say anything!" Edward shouted angrily.

A man glanced down at them from where he was working. "What was that, Khayal?"

Khayal grinned. "We've got customers! A walking piggy bank!"

Caden couldn't stop laughing the whole way to the inn. Edward's face was priceless at being called a piggy bank. He sat down at the table the man led them to and smiled. He was rather hungry.

A woman approached and smiled at him. "A night and two meals for three?" She asked kindly.

"How much?" Edward asked.

The man came back over and smirked. "Three hundred thousand. We don't get many tourists so when we do, we try to make sure we get all their money."

Caden sighed. Looks like they weren't going to be eating tonight. There seemed to be no escape either as Edward tried to storm off when the man grabbed him by the head and dragged him back, a scary look in his eyes. He hopped out of his chair and went over to Alphonse and Edward whom were crouching on the floor trying to figure out what to do. "I've got one thousand. Does that help any?" He asked.

Edward sighed. "Not really." A wicked look came to his face. "I guess we'll just have to turn pebbles into gold."

"That's against the law." Alphonse chastised.

Edward cackled evilly. "If we don't get caught…we won't get caught."

"You're setting a bad example for Caden!" Alphonse protested.

Caden blinked as Khayal was suddenly crouching beside them. He looked a the three for a moment. "Dad, this guy is an Alchemist!"

Immediately, the three were crowded. Alphonse quickly picked Caden up and put him on his shoulder as the miners began bringing out broken tools for Edward to repair. Caden noticed how Edward seemed to enjoy all the attention he was getting, especially when everyone praised him for his work. After everyone's tools had been fixed, the three were once again allowed to sit down.

Caden's eyes lit up as the owner brought out plates of hot food for them and a mug of something to drink. His stomach rumbled in approval.

"I'll give you guys a special Alchemist Friendship discount." The man said with a grin on his face. "It's a fifty percent discount so you still owe one hundred fifty thousand."

"That's still a lot!" Edward shouted in protest.

The man laughed boisterously. "By the way, I don't believe we got your names."

Edward grinned as he was about to dig into his food. "Oh, I'm Edward Elric."

Caden was just about to take a bite when the food and his utensils were swiped away from him. He stared blankly at the stop where his food had once been and then up at the man that had swiped it away. It wasn't just his food that had been taken, though. The man had taken Edward's and was glaring down at him. It seemed that the man suddenly didn't like Edward and Caden was being punished for it.

"So, you're Edward Elric, the State Alchemist?" The man asked.

Edward seemed slightly perturbed but he shook it off as he reached for his mug. "Well, I guess so." This time he was truly annoyed as the man swiped his mug away. "Hey, what's going on?"

Caden squeaked as someone picked him up by the collar of his shirt. He heard Edward shouting in protest and Alphonse meekly asking for the people to stop shoving him. Caden winced as they were roughly thrown outside. "What'd you do that for?"

"We don't serve dogs of the military." The owner sneered, the coal miners around him nodding in agreement.

Caden and Alphonse looked at each other for a moment. "Um, we aren't part of the military." Alphonse said, Caden rapidly nodding in agreement.

"Sorry, Edward." Caden said as the miners allowed them back in, leaving Edward outside all alone. Caden grinned as food was once again placed in front of him. He dug into the food in front of him while Al spoke to Khayal.

"State Alchemist aren't very popular around here, are they?" Alphonse asked, ignoring the food in front of him.

"Everyone here hates the military. This town is under Lieutenant Yoki's authority, but he doesn't care about us. All he cares about is making money. He spends all his money on bribes and even bought his way into being a Lieutenant. He used to just own the coal mines, but he wanted to move up."

Caden paused in stuffing food down his throat. "So, this is his private property?"

"Yeah." Khayal sighed. "Even if we try to complain to higher ups, he just bribes them so they won't do anything. It totally sucks! Then, there's the State Alchemist…"

Khayal's father came over to the table. "Their slogan is 'Alchemist work for the people'. It's their source of pride. I know they get a lot in exchange, but…I can't forgive those Alchemist that sell their souls to the military."

Caden didn't really understand. All he knew was that the food in front of him was gone and now he was sleepy. He rested his head on the table and began dozing off. He barely noticed when Alphonse silently slipped away with his food. He felt someone put a blanket over him. "Mommy…" He called out softly.

He was rudely awoken only moments later by someone slamming the door open. Caden jolted up and looked around frantically. Alphonse was nowhere in sight, but all the coal miners seemed rather tense as three men in military uniforms entered the inn.

The one leading the other two, whom Caden assumed was Yoki, looked around disdainfully. "The place looks filthy as usual, Halling."

Halling didn't rise to the jab. "Well, what brings you here, Lieutenant?"

Yoki scoffed. "You're late on your taxes."

Halling sighed. "I'm sorry, but we're barely getting by as it is."

"Really?" Yoki looked around. "You seem to still be able to sell booze. Perhaps I should lower your salary again."

Caden's eyes widened as Khayal threw a dirty wet rag right into Yoki's face. He was even more surprised when Yoki actually slapped Khayal across the face. Military personnel weren't supposed to hurt civilians, they were supposed to help them. "Leave him alone!" Caden shouted, jumping from his seat and running to stand in front of Khayal.

"Brats should learn their place." Yoki said as he motioned for one of his men to draw his sword.

Caden flinched as the man brought the sword down, certain he was about to die. He blinked when all he heard was the sound of metal hitting metal. "Edward!"

Edward casually sipped at his mug while the soldier looked in shock at his broken sword. "Honestly, Caden. We leave you alone for a few minutes and you almost get killed?"

Caden flushed. "Shut up!"

"Hey, this doesn't involve you." Yoki hissed. "Get out of here."

Edward fished around in his pocket. "Well, I heard the Lieutenant was going to be in town, so I decided to stop by and say hello." He smirked as Yoki's eyes widened when he flashed his gold watch at Yoki.

Caden almost laughed at how pale Yoki went, especially when one of his men called Edward a brat. "Thanks, Edward."

Edward flashed him a brief smile before turning his attention back to Yoki. He twitched as he swore the word 'runt' being whispered.

Yoki turned his attention back to Edward, a bright, fake smile on his face. "I apologize for my subordinates lack of manners. I'm Yoki and I own this town. It must be fate that we met here! There's no need for you to stay in this pigpen. We're far from the town but we have some lovely rooms you can stay in."

Edward grinned. "That sounds great. The owner of this place is too cheap to let me stay here."

Yoki turned around one last time as he followed Edward and his subordinates out. "Don't think you're off the hook. I'm going to get all the taxes you lowlifes owe me."

As soon as the door slammed shut, the miners began shouting angrily. Caden stayed close to Alphonse and frowned. Edward had happily gone with the corrupt Yoki. Had he really sold his soul to the military like Halling said? He blinked as Alphonse picked him up and put him on his shoulder.

"Don't worry. Brother has a plan." Alphonse said confidently. He laughed as Caden yawned. "Why don't we get you to bed?"

Caden didn't struggle at all as Alphonse carried him to their room. He burrowed under the covers as soon as Alphonse sat him on the bed. He poked his head out and frowned when he saw Alphonse sitting by the window. "Aren't you going to sleep?"

"I…can't." Alphonse said after a moment. "Go to sleep, Caden."

"Okay." Caden said reluctantly. "Good night, Al."

Caden hated dreaming. He always dreamed of either the night his father was murdered by the monster, for there was no other word for what had torn down their door that night. The monster hadn't seen Caden and his mother since his father had made them both hide. But they had both seen everything. Caden remembered how he'd buried his face in his mother's dress so he couldn't see the monster ripping his father apart. His mother, though, had watched everything. She wasn't the same after that.

"Caden, wake up." Alphonse said urgently. "The inn's on fire. We have to get out." He couldn't wait for Caden to wake up. Alphonse scooped Caden up out of the bed and ran out of the inn.

Everyone one else was already outside, trying in vain to stop the fire. After a while, they all just stopped and watched sadly as the inn burned to the ground. As the last bit of the inn burned down, the sun began rising over the horizon.

Caden was fully awake now as Edward came over to the group. "What happened?"

"Some people are saying they saw some of Yoki's underlings around here last night." Khayal said, sitting dejectedly beside Alphonse and Edward. He looked hopefully at Edward. "Hey, Ed, you're good enough to create gold, right? Can't you make some gold to help my dad and this town."

Edward sighed, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "No." He said firmly.

Caden frowned as he hopped out of Alphonse's arms. "Why not? It won't cost you anything."

"The foundation of alchemy is 'equivalent exchange'." Edward said coolly. "Why should I give them free money." He didn't even flinch as Khayal grabbed the front of his shirt.

"You scumbag!" Khayal shouted in Edward's face. "You call yourself an alchemist!"

Edward looked at him for a moment before sighing. He spoke slowly, as though he were explaining some complex formula of alchemy to Caden. "If I helped you now, the money would just end up as taxes in Yoki's vault. I don't feel like being used by all of you just to get by. If you're that desperate, leave this town and go find another job." He turned on his heels and began walking away with Alphonse and Caden close behind him.

Halling went to his son to comfort him. "Kid, I know you can't understand this, but…the mines are our homes…and our graves."

"Edward, you aren't really going to leave them like that, are you?" Caden asked as he and Alphonse rushed to catch up with Edward. He blinked as Edward stopped in front of two large metal carts full of culm.

Edward looked at the two carts thoughtfully. "Al, how much culm do you think is in these carts?"

Alphonse looked at both carts for a moment. "One…maybe two tons."

Edward nodded before climbing up onto the edge of the cart. "Al, Caden, I'm going to do something slightly illegal right now so don't look."

"You're setting a bad example for Caden." Alphonse sighed as Edward began changing the culm into gold bars.

"That's so cool!" Caden shouted.

It took the three a while, but they were finally able to haul all the gold bars to Yoki's house. Caden stood between Alphonse and Edward nervously as Yoki practically drooled over the gold bars. He really wished Edward would tell him and Alphonse what his plan was. He watched the exchange between Edward and Yoki with mild interest as Edward bought the rights to the coal mine 'free of charge' according to the deed. As the three walked back towards the town, Caden looked up at Edward. "What are you going to do?"

"Oh, you'll see." Edward cackled.

"He's being evil again, isn't he." Caden said to Alphonse whom simply sighed in defeat.

The three walked around until they heard loud, angry voices coming from what Caden thought looked like a giant storage shed. Edward hummed to himself as he practically skipped over to the door and swung it open. "Hi, everyone!" He sang. "You've all got such gloomy faces on!"

The miners gathered looked disdainfully at Edward and his group. "What are you doing here?" Sneered Khayal.

Edward smirked as he waved the papers he had just gotten from Yoki in the miners' faces. "You shouldn't speak to your new proprietor that way. From this moment on, the coal mines belong to me!"

Caden wanted to laugh at the shocked looks on all the miners faces. He looked thoughtfully up at Edward. "But, Edward, we're always traveling."

Edward nodded, as though he hadn't thought of that before. "You're right, Caden. We're just a group of wanderers going from place to place."

"These papers are just going to get in the way, so…" Alphonse trailed off.

Halling looked a the three, a frown on his face. "You want to sell us the deed? How much?"

Edward smirked at Halling and waved the papers in his face. "Afraid you can't afford it? If you want something, you've got to be willing to pay the price."

Caden's eyes widened as Edward listed off all the expensive things that had made the documents and the box they were to be kept safely in. "That sounds like it's going to be really expensive." He piped up.

Edward nodded. "Yup. I'd say it's all worth…a night's stay and two meals for three at your place." He grinned at Halling. "How's that, Chief?"

Halling looked at them dumfounded for a moment before cracking up. "That is rather expensive. I'll buy it!"

Caden grinned as Edward handed the deed over to Halling. Edward hadn't abandoned the people. He just had his own way of helping them that would save them all in the long run. "Edward is really awesome."

Alphonse nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Just don't follow his example."

"I know." Caden said as Yoki and his subordinates stormed into the room.

"What's the meaning of this?" Yoki whined as he came in. "The gold bars you gave me turned into rock."

"When'd you do that?" Caden asked.

Edward chuckled evilly. "Right before we left."

"Like I said, don't follow his example." Alphonse whispered to Caden.

"I don't know anything about any gold bars." Edward said innocently. "It says here on the deed that I was given this deed free of charge."

Yoki sputtered for a moment before growing angry. "This deed is null and void. Take those documents back!"

Even Caden flinched as the burly miners stepped forward. He was glad that it was Yoki and his men that they were beating up and not him. Once the corrupt military men dragged themselves away, the miners began cheering.

Caden grinned as everyone began celebrating. Food and booze were brought in. Caden stuffed himself full until he grew sleepy again. He laid down on the floor beside Edward and began dozing off. "That was really awesome what you did, Edward."

Edward grinned as he drifted off to sleep as well. "Well, I am pretty awesome."

"Yeah…now if only you were taller."

Alphonse sighed as he once again scooped Caden up off the floor, barely saving the boy from being hit by Edward's automail arm. "You two…"


	3. Hijackers

**Sakura02: Yeah, Yoki's a pain in the ass. Don't worry, though. You know who will put him in his place if she ever meets him XD**

**Mew Phong: Yes, I'll be following the manga which Brotherhood is based off of.**

**BlackRosario: Caden does have a bit of a mouth on him that tends to get him in trouble. I'm following the manga which Brotherhood was based off of. **

**Thank you: Yuri 'Ziako' Glass Rose, kitsunelover300, No one important, hinatablueeyes708, Princesa de la Luna, and Saiyuki Sucker for reviewing!**

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"Edward sure sleeps a lot." Caden muttered, nudging Edward's side with his foot. He looked nervously over at the hijackers that were currently pointing guns at everyone and glaring at the snoring Edward.

Alphonse sighed as one of the men came over and began poking Edward in the head with his gun. "Please don't do that…"

The man glowered at Al and Caden before turning his attention back to Edward. "Wake up, you damn runt."

Caden flinched as Edward snapped awake. "That man's going to die now, isn't he?"

Alphonse flinched as Edward quickly disposed of the two men that had mocked his height. Edward stared blankly down at the two men. "Who exactly are these guys?"

Alphonse sighed and quickly explained to Edward what had happened since they had boarded the train. "Caden, could you please tie those two up?"

Caden raised an eyebrow, but didn't argue. He quickly tied up the two unconscious men before stepping back to admire his handiwork. His father had taught him how to tie knots when he was a small child. It was one of the few things Caden remembered from the happier days of his childhood. He quickly jumped back to hide behind Alphonse as one of the men woke up.

Edward grinned eerily at the terrified man. "So, how many of you are there?"

The man trembled and only hesitated for a moment before ratting out his friends. "Aside from us, there are two in the engine room and four in the first-class car to guard the general. There are also four more in coach. That's all, I swear!" The man squealed as Edward held up a fist.

"All right." Edward finally said. "I'll take them from above. Al, you and Caden deal with them from below, okay?"

"Yes sir!" Caden mock saluted as Edward opened the window and climbed out the window onto the roof. "Let's go, Alphonse."

"Stay behind me, Caden." Alphonse said as he led the way. "You never know how people like this will react."

Sure enough, as soon as they entered the other coach car, one of the hijackers began wildly shooting at Alphonse. Caden ducked behind Alphonse as the bullets ricocheted off of Alphonse and back into the man with the gun. Caden peered around Alphonse. "Are they…"

"Please stop! They're going to ricochet!" Alphonse protested as yet another man began shooting at him.

Caden quickly ducked back behind Alphonse as the bullets once again began ricocheting. "Are grown ups always this dumb?"

"I wonder sometimes." Alphonse sighed as he quickly dealt with the last two hijackers. "Come on, Caden. Let's hurry and get to the second car."

Caden nodded and grabbed Alphonse's hand as the two dashed to the second car. "Are you worried about Edward, Al?"

Al glanced down at Caden. "No. Edward is really strong. He can handle guys like this with no problem."

The two came to a halt in the second car. One of the hijackers from the first car had come into the second car on his way to see why none of their comrades were responding. He squealed when he saw the giant suit of armor before him.

"It's going to ricochet, Sir." Caden said as the man brought his gun up. He sighed as the man paid no heed to his warning and shot at Alphonse, causing the bullets to ricochet into him. Caden grinned as Alphonse punched the man in the face, knocking him out. "You're really cool, Al!"

Al seemed to puff up at the comment. Both perked up when they heard Edward's muffled voice coming from the first-class car. The sound of rushing water slamming against the door greeted their ears. "Caden, could you open the door. I think we have guest."

"Okay." Caden pulled the door open, grinning as three hijackers came rushing into the car on a wave of water. "Edward did something cool again. Hey, Al," he asked as Alphonse knocked the hijackers out. "could you and Edward just adopt me? Caden Elric sounds pretty cool, right?"

Alphonse laughed as he and Caden walked into the first car. "Being Caden Hawkeye is pretty cool too, though. Your cousin is really strong and really cool, even if she isn't an Alchemist."

Caden knew to stay back as Alphonse crept up behind the leader of the hijackers that was currently preoccupied with fighting Edward. His grin widened as Alphonse smacked the hijacker from behind and knocked the man unconscious just as they pulled into the station. "I still think Caden Elric sounds cool."

The three departed from the train as military officers piled on to apprehend all the hijackers. Caden blinked in the sunlight as a man approached them. "Edward, do you know that guy. He's smirking at you like an idiot."

Edward groaned when he looked up and saw who it was. "I wouldn't have helped if I knew it was in that moron's district." He muttered.

The man approached Edward and Caden. "Hello, Fullmetal. I see you're still not back to normal." He noticed Caden lingering nervously beside Edward. "Whose the kid?"

"Oh, this is…" Edward didn't get to finish his sentence as the sound of someone screaming.

The little group looked over in unison to find the leader of the hijackers loose with a concealed knife coming out of his automail arm. Caden sighed, not noticing the blonde woman that had come to stand beside them. "Idiots just never learn."

"Please say back, Colonel." The woman said as she cocked a gun.

The man simply smirked. "I'll handle this."

Caden's eyes widened as the hijacker charged at them with his bloody knife. He took a hesitant step back as the colonel snapped his fingers together. "Wow!" Caden gasped out as a sudden explosion knocked the hijacker out.

The man stood over the hijacker. "I took it easy on you that time. If you resist again, I will turn you to ash."

"Edward. Edward." Caden impatiently tugged on Edward's sleeve. "Who's that guy?"

The woman glanced down at Caden. "That is Colonel Roy Mustang, also known as the Flame Alchemist." She blinked as Caden was suddenly standing in front of her, staring intently at her with his large brown eyes. She gave him a small smile and knelt in front of him. "What's your name? How'd you get stuck with the Elric Brothers?"

"Are you Riza Hawkeye?" Caden asked.

Riza blinked and nodded. "Yes, I am. Who might you be?" She tensed as Caden suddenly launched himself into her arms and hugged her tightly. She looked at Edward for an explanation since Caden was crying on her shoulder.

Edward grinned. "His name is Caden Hawkeye. He's your cousin and he's been looking for you for a long time."


	4. Monster

**Sakura02: You're just biased because you love Roy so much**

**Yuri Glass Rose EXPLOSIVEROCK: Lol, Mustang is a pretty cool badass**

**ToraKU: We shall see what he winds up doing…:)**

**Thank you: Mew Phong, pepsipiggy, hinatblueeyes, perfectpanda37, and Okami-G for reviewing!**

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Riza remained crouched with Caden still hugging her for a moment longer. She finally pulled him back, her hands on his shoulders as she stared into his brown eyes that matched her own. "Caden?" She asked softly. When Caden nodded, Riza spoke again, her voice softer than before. "It's been so long since I last saw you. You weren't even crawling then. Where's your mother and father?"

Caden bit his lip, refusing to allow anymore tears to spill. "They're dead. I was going to get sent to an orphanage, but then they found out you were still alive and they said if you would take care of me, I wouldn't have to go. Please, can I stay with you, Riza?"

"Of course." Riza answered, straightening up as Roy walked over. "Colonel, this is Caden, my cousin. He'll be staying with me from now on, sir."

Roy stared down at Caden with a raised eyebrow. "I didn't know you had any other family." He ruffled Caden's hair. "It's nice to meet you, Caden Hawkeye."

Caden narrowed his eyes and batted Roy's hand away. He looked between Riza and Roy slowly. "Are you Riza-neesan's lover?"

Dead silence fell over the group at the station. It was Edward laughing hysterically that broke Riza from her shock. She took Caden's hand and began leading him away. "Let's get you settled in, Caden. And no, the Colonel is not my lover. I have better taste than that."

Caden laughed at Roy's shout of indignation. He looked over his shoulder to see Edward and Alphonse following Roy in the opposite direction. "I forgot to say goodbye…"

"Once we've got you settled in, you can go see them." Riza reassured. She raised her eyebrow when she saw the little bag slung over Caden's shoulder. "Is that all you have?"

Caden nodded slowly, turning to face forward again. "It was all mom could afford after dad was…after dad died."

Riza raised an inquisitive eyebrow, but no matter what other questions she asked, Caden refused to reveal anymore. "Well, this is home." Riza pushed open the door to a small apartment. She watched as Caden looked around. "It's not very big. You can put your things in the bedroom. If I'd had some warning I would've at least gotten a bed for you…"

Caden grinned over at Riza and quickly shook his head. "It's okay. I don't mind." He looked thoughtfully off to the side and mumbled to himself. "I wonder what Edward and Al are doing…"

Riza had to bite back a smile. "Why don't I take you over to headquarters to see Edward and Alphonse?" She didn't miss the way Caden's eyes lit up as he nodded enthusiastically. She took Caden by the hand again and the two walked to the military headquarters.

Caden's eyes widened at the huge stairs that led up to the military headquarters. "You work here?" He asked Riza, awe on his face.

"Yes." Riza answered. "Oh, there's the Colonel."

Caden narrowed his eyes suspiciously as Roy walked down the steps with Edward and Alphonse. He and Roy stared dubiously at each other for a moment before Edward cleared his throat.

"Um, aren't you supposed to be taking Al and I over to Shou Tucker's house?" Edward asked, breaking the staring contest Caden and Roy had been having.

"Can I come?" Caden asked hopefully, looking first to Edward and then Riza for permission.

"I don't mind." Edward sighed when Riza looked at him. He knelt down and wagged a finger in Caden's face. "We're going to be doing some serious research so you can't get in the way."

Caden stuck his tongue out at Edward. "I know. I'll be quiet and practice my alchemy circles." He let go of Riza's hand as Edward straightened. He turned to wave at Riza as he followed Roy, Edward, and Alphonse. "I'll see you later, Riza-neesan!"

"So," Roy said as they walked down the sidewalk. "How exactly are you two related?"

"She's my cousin." Caden answered. "Her dad and my dad were brothers. I never met him and I thought I'd never met Riza before, but she remembers meeting me when I was a baby. She's the only family I have left."

Roy nodded as they came to a rather large house. "I see." Roy went up to the house and rang the doorbell while Edward, Alphonse, and Caden gawked at how huge the house was.

Caden tensed as he heard a rustling noise coming from the bushes beside them. Instinctively, he latched onto Edward's hand. "Did you hear that?" He whispered.

Edward grinned down at Caden. "What's wrong, Caden? Scared?"

Before Caden could say anything, a giant dog leapt out from the bushes and tackled Edward to the ground. Caden howled with laughter as Edward screamed in terror. He turned his attention to the now open door where a little girl, maybe only a year or two younger than him, was giggling while an older man that Caden assumed to be the girl's father was apologizing profusely.

"Nina, I told you to tie Alexander up." The man sighed.

Nina giggled and skipped down the steps, pulling Alexander off of Edward. She beamed at Caden when she finally noticed him. "Hi, I'm Nina Tucker. What's your name?"

"Caden Hawkeye." Caden answered as Edward stood up and dusted himself off, trying his best to look cool and collected. He grinned as Edward glowered at him.

"Please, come inside." The man smiled at the little group. "Nina, go take care of Alexander."

Caden followed Edward and the others into the house while Nina disappeared around the corner, the large dog trailing behind her. Caden looked around in awe as they entered the house. He had never been in such a large house before and even the large clutter of boxes and files couldn't detract from the huge house. "Cool."

The man smiled as he sat down and motioned for the others to do the same. "I'm sorry for the mess. It's been hard to keep up with cleaning since my wife left me. I'm Shou Tucker, also known as the 'Sewing-Life Alchemist'."

"Edward here is interested in biological alchemy and I thought you might be able to show him your research." Roy explained.

Shou Tucker nodded thoughtfully. "Of course. I don't mind, but if you want to see what I have to offer, I want to see what you have. Alchemy is about equivalent exchange after all."

Caden glared suspiciously at the man. "That's none of your business."

Edward held up a hand to silence the young boy. "It's okay, Caden. Mr. Tucker has a right to know."

Caden flinched as Edward unbuttoned his shirt and revealed his automail arm. He sat patiently beside Edward as Edward told Shou Tucker his story. Even though he'd already heard the story, it hurt Caden's heart to see the pain on Edward's face as he spoke.

"That must have been hard, losing your mother like that." Shou Tucker said slowly. "Don't worry, I won't say anything." He added when he saw the concerned look on Roy's face. I doubt the military could afford to lose such a brilliant person. Please, follow me."

Caden immediately latched onto Alphonse's hand as they followed Shou Tucker to his laboratory. He glared at Edward as the eldest Elric snickered at him. Caden stuck his tongue out at Edward's back as Shou Tucker opened the door to his laboratory. Caden wasn't sure whether to be awed or disgusted by the chimeras crowded into cages.

"Here's my file room." Shou Tucker said, showing them into a room located just off of the laboratory.

"Wow…that's a lot of books." Caden muttered in appreciation.

Edward nodded his head before his face turned serious. "I'll start with this shelf. Caden, go look over there." Edward motioned to a shelf a few down from the one Edward had claimed.

"I'll look over there." Alphonse said before going around the corner of one of the large bookshelves.

"I'll let Lieutenant Hawkeye know you are staying with the Elric brothers for now." Roy said. He raised an eyebrow at the suspicious look Caden shot him. "Is something wrong?"

Caden stared at him for another moment before turning and plucking a book off the shelf. "Just keep your hands to yourself." He grinned as Roy sputtered something out before storming out of the room after Shou Tucker.

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"Edward, I'm bored." Caden groaned in frustration, throwing a book across the room and crossing his arms over his chest. "Can't we stop for today?"

Edward didn't respond to Caden, but looked up as the clock chimed five o'clock. "I didn't realize what time it was…Caden have you seen Alphonse?"

Caden sighed and shook his head. He stood up and stretched as Edward stood up as well. "Hey, Al, where are you?" Caden blinked as he heard the sound of something running towards them. By the time he had turned around to see what it was, Alexander had already tackled Edward to the ground. Caden let out a howl of laughter as Alphonse came around the corner with Nina on his shoulder. "Hey, Al, Nina."

"You're supposed to be looking through data, not playing babysitter!" Edward shouted, trying his best to look intimidating with a giant dog sitting on him.

"Well, Nina was bored and wanted me to play with her…" Alphonse trailed off, laughing nervously.

Nina giggled and slid off of Alphonse's shoulders, landing in front of Caden. "Hey, Big Brother, Alexander wants you to play with him!" Nina giggled along with Caden as Alexander licked Edward's face. She turned her attention to Caden, a bright smile on her face. "Wanna play with me?"

Caden blinked. Growing up, there had never been other children around for him to play with. He'd always had to entertain himself or watch his father perform alchemy in order to amuse himself. "Sure." He jumped as Nina squealed excitedly and hugged him.

"May I ask what is going on in here?" A blonde man Caden hadn't ever seen before was standing in the doorway, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

"We were just taking a break." Caden said innocently from his perch on top of Alexander whom had once again tackled Edward to the ground with a giggling Nina sitting beside them.

"Did you find any useful data?" Shou Tucker asked. At the devastated look on Edward's face, he smiled nervously. "You can come back tomorrow."

"Will you and Alphonse come back too?" Nina asked Caden hopefully.

"Yeah, sure." Caden answered. He stiffened as Nina once again hugged him. "You're awfully touchy feely, aren't you?"

Nina giggled and let him go. "I'll see you tomorrow, Caden, Alphonse, Big Brother!"

The blonde man, whom Caden learned was Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc, escorted Caden back to Riza's apartment. "How did it go today?" Riza asked after her and Caden had eaten dinner and were clearing the plates away.

Caden shrugged. "We didn't really find anything out. We're going back tomorrow…if that's okay with you." Caden added quickly when he saw Riza glance at him from the corner of her eye.

"Of course." Riza answered. "I'll be working at headquarters all day tomorrow." She glanced at the clock in the corner. "I suppose it's time for you to go to bed." She raised an eyebrow as Caden walked over to the couch in the living room. "Where are you going?"

"To bed." Caden answered simply. "I'm not going to take your bed from you and I don't like sleeping on the floor."

Riza bit back a chuckle and shook her head. "This way, Caden."

Caden obediently followed Riza to the bedroom. "I said I wasn't going to take your bed from you." He protested.

"You really think you were going to live here without a bed of your own?" Riza asked. She watched as Caden walked over to the little bed pushed against the wall next to Riza's own. "I'm sorry that I don't have an extra bedroom for you to stay in…"

Caden grinned over at Riza. "This is awesome! Thanks, Riza-neesan!" Caden turned back to his bed, missing the small smile that graced Riza's face.

The next day found Caden sitting in Shou Tucker's study with the Elric brothers, Nina, and Alexander. He sighed as he put down the book he had been looking through. "So, your mom left two years ago, right, Nina?" Caden asked.

Nina nodded, slouching against Alexander. "Yeah. Daddy said she went back to her parent's house."

"It must be lonely with just the two of you living in this big house." Alphonse said, putting his own book down while Edward continued reading through his own.

"No way!" Nina said with a grin. "Daddy's nice to me and I've got Alexander to play with! But," her face fell as she hugged Alexander tightly. "Daddy's been working in his laboratory so much lately…so I guess I'm a little lonely…"

Edward sighed and stood up abruptly, startling Caden. "All this studying is cramping my shoulders. You, dog, I'll play with you for exercise."

Taking Edward's cue, Caden grabbed Nina's hand and pulled her outside while Alexander gleefully chased Edward out and Alphonse trailed behind. "I'll play with you, Nina."

Nina beamed as she and Caden began running around the yard. After about an hour of playing tag with Alphonse, the two children decided to take a break and watch Alexander tackle Edward. "So, Caden, where's your mommy and daddy?" She frowned at the sad look that came over Caden's face. "It's okay. You don't have to tell me."

"My dad was killed and my mom died." Caden said softly. "I live with my cousin now. You'd like her. She's really nice." His eyes lit up suddenly. "Maybe you can come meet her!"

Nina's eyes lit up as well. "Really? That'd be so fun! I'll ask Daddy tonight!"

* * *

The next day when Caden, Edward, and Alphonse went over to the Tucker house, the sky was dark and thunder rumbled in the sky. When nobody answered the door, Alphonse tried the door handle. The three were surprised when the door opened easily.

"Nina?" Caden called softly.

The three wandered all over the house, calling for Nina and Shou Tucker. They finally found Shou kneeling in his lab. "Mr. Tucker, didn't you hear us calling?" Caden asked. He took a hesitant step back as Shou gave them an eerie smile.

"Look, it's my newest creation." Shou said, standing up. As the three hesitantly entered the lab, Shou's eerie smile grew. "It's a chimera that talks like a human. Observe." Shou knelt back down in front of the chimera and pointed to Edward. "This is Edward. Do you understand?"

"Ed…ward…" The chimera's gravely voice whispered.

Shou nodded and smiled. "Very good."

Caden cautiously approached the chimera along with Edward. A tight knot twisted in his stomach as the chimera stared at him with vaguely familiar eyes. As the chimera repeated Edward's name over and over again, Caden's stomach twisted even more painfully.

"Big…brother…" the chimera finally whispered out.

Edward's eyes widened. "Mr. Tucker, when was it that you got your license for the first talking chimera?"

Shou Tucker thought for a moment. "Two years ago…"

"Edward?" Caden asked softly as Edward clenched his fist furiously at his side.

"When did your wife leave you?" Edward asked through clenched teeth.

"About two years ago." Shou Tucker answered calmly.

Slowly, the pieces were falling into place for Caden. He turned his attention back to the chimera and realized why the chimera's eyes were so familiar. He placed a hand on the chimera's nose. "Nina…? Alexander…?" He whispered out.

"Caden?" The chimera whispered back, licking his hand gently.

Caden whipped around as he heard a loud thump behind him. "Edward, stop!" Caden shouted as Edward began furiously punching Shou Tucker in the face over and over as the man mocked Edward, reminding Edward of his past and comparing Edward to himself. "Edward, you're going to kill him!"

"That's enough." Alphonse grabbed Edward's hand to stop his brother from hurting Shou Tucker even more. "If you say anything more, Mr. Tucker, I'll snap just like my brother."

Caden remained sitting beside the Nina/Alexander chimera creature, his arms wrapped around her neck. He didn't realize he was crying until Alphonse placed on comforting hand on his head before placing his other on Nina's face. "You guys can fix her, right, Al?" Caden whimpered out.

"We don't have the skill to turn her back to normal right now." Alphonse said softly. "I'm so sorry, Nina."

"Wanna play?" Nina asked softly, causing Caden to cry even harder.

* * *

Caden was curled up against Edward, huddled under his bright red jacket as the rain poured down with Alphonse sitting beside them on the steps leading up to headquarters. None of them spoke as the rain poured down on them. Caden glanced up as Roy and Riza walked down the steps.

"How long do you plan on being depressed?" Roy asked Edward.

"Leave him alone." Caden snapped. "Edward has every right to be upset! Nina is…Nina was…" Caden choked back the tears that he had finally been able to hold back. He opened his mouth to say more, but stopped when he saw Riza shake her head.

"No matter what terrible names people may call you for working for the military, you still chose to be a state alchemist." Roy said harshly to Edward. "You could've lived the rest of your life out as best you could with the body you have. It was you who chose to continue studying alchemy. Can you really be held back by something so small?"

Caden blinked as Edward abruptly shot up. "Something so small?" Edward shouted angrily. "People may call us dogs or devils, but we're not! We're just humans! We couldn't even save one little girl! We're just pathetic human beings!" Edward blinked as he felt a small hand grip his hand. He looked down and managed a weak smile at the sad look Caden gave him.

"Go home and rest." Roy said after a moment. "You'll catch a cold."

"Caden." Riza said as she walked down the rest of the steps, looking up at Caden expectantly.

"Go on home." Edward said to Caden. He blinked as Caden hugged him. "Caden?"

"Even though we didn't save Nina, you saved me." Caden whispered. "Please don't beat yourself up over this. It's really uncool."

Edward managed a grin as he ruffled Caden's hair. "Thanks, Caden."

Riza watched all of this and said nothing. As Caden rushed towards her and took her hand, she looked down at him. "Ready to go home?"

Caden glanced back over at Alphonse and Edward whom were now sullenly walking the opposite way. "Yeah."


	5. Scar

**I am so sorry for my long absence everyone! It was the end of the semester and Physics was kicking my butt. I'm all done now with the Spring semester so updates should be much more frequent :) Thank you all for your patience and continued support!**

**Sakura02: How do you think I felt writing it? I think I spent half the time writing trying to figure out a way to save Nina and Alexander…**

**Thanks: pepsipiggy, Okami-G, Mew Phong, Icealeena, and perfectpanda37 for reviewing!**

* * *

"Can't I go with you, Riza-neesan?" Caden whined as Riza prepared to leave. Rain hit the window softly, dimming the early morning light to a hazy grey.

Riza shook her head patiently. "No, Caden. It's too dangerous. Stay here where it's safe."

Caden frowned. "Does it have to do with Tucker and Nina?" Caden asked. He had heard Riza on the phone with someone, whispering quickly and urgently. "What happened to Nina? Is she okay?"

Riza opened and closed her mouth a few times before walking back over to Caden. She knelt in front of him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Tucker and Nina were killed last night."

Caden's eyes widened. "Why? By who? Why would they kill Nina? She didn't do anything!" Tears fell from his eyes as he thought of the little girl he had barely gotten to know. "Why?"

Riza shook her head and pulled Caden into a brief hug. "Please, stay put Caden. We don't know who did this and I don't want you to get hurt."

"Okay." Caden said reluctantly. "See you later." He said softly as Riza left. He went over to the window and watched Riza leave before turning to the apartment to try and find something to do.

He worked on his transmutation circles for a while. He managed a weak smile as he finally made one that he was sure would be up to Edward's standards. He decided to try and make something simple to show Edward how he'd been improving. Gathering the appropriate ingredients, he placed them all in the center of his transmutation circle. Caden concentrated, squeezing his eyes shut tightly. When he opened them, he grinned in triumph when he saw the beautiful blue stone sitting in front of him. It wasn't a precious gem so Caden was certain it didn't go against the rules. Besides, he just wanted to make it to show Edward. He thought briefly of Nina. He was sure the little girl would've liked it.

Caden looked out the window at the still falling rain, clutching the stone tightly to his chest. "I'll come right back before Riza-neesan gets home…" He assured himself before grabbing an umbrella, putting on his raincoat, and running out into the rain, the stone in his pant pocket. He ran down the sidewalk, deciding to go look at Headquarters for Edward and Alphonse. He blinked as he suddenly ran into somebody much taller than him. "Sorry." He said quickly, looking up to see who he'd run into.

A very tall man stood looking down at him. The man's hair was shockingly white against his tan skin and his eyes were hidden behind sunglasses. The most noticeable thing about the man, however, was the large X shaped scar on his face. "Be more careful." The man said, though not unkindly.

Caden frowned as he looked at the man. "You're going to get sick." He held his umbrella out to the man, waiting patiently for him to take it. "It's okay. I've got my raincoat on so you take my umbrella." When the man still didn't respond, Caden shoved the umbrella into his hand before running ahead of the man. His eyes lit up when he saw to very familiar figures sitting underneath a large clock in the center of the town. "Edward!"

Edward glanced up as Caden ran over to him. He frowned at the proud grin on Caden's face. "What're you so happy about? You heard about Nina didn't you?"

Caden's grin briefly faltered. He didn't even notice the man from earlier walking past them, Caden's umbrella clutched in his hands. "I know…I made this for her. I want to put it on her grave when they bury her. Do you think she'll like it?"

Edward looked at the stone in Caden's hand. It wasn't a perfectly round stone. Some parts stuck out more than others and the blue wasn't completely even throughout the stone. He looked up at Caden's hopeful face. "This is the first thing you ever transmuted, huh?" When Caden nodded rapidly, Edward cracked a small smile. "She'll love it."

"Edward!" A solider shouted running towards them. "Edward Elric! I'm so glad you're okay!" The man said as he stopped in front of them. "You must return to headquarters immediately. There's a killer on the loose…"

Caden's eyes widened as the man from earlier was suddenly standing behind the soldier, Caden's umbrella dropped to the ground. "Hey, mister…"

The man stared down at them. "Edward Elric…the Fullmetal Alchemist…"

Caden wasn't even embarrassed when he shouted in fear as the man grabbed the soldier by the face and did something, killing the man. Caden grabbed Edward's sleeve and began pulling insistently on it. "Edward, we've got to run!" When Edward didn't respond, Caden looked up and saw Edward was frozen in fear. "Edward!"

At the same time that Caden screamed, the clock behind them chimed loudly, snapping Edward from his stupor. "Al, Caden, run!" He shouted, grabbing Caden's hand and running off quickly after Alphonse.

"Quick, this way!" Alphonse motioned them down an alleyway. He was already drawing a transmutation circle and quickly made a large wall that no one would be able to get past.

Caden breathed a sigh of relief and rested against the wall. "What'd you do to make that guy so mad, Edward?"

"I didn't do anything to him!" Edward shouted back.

Their brief respite was short lived as the man blew a hole easily into the wall, destroying it. He stepped through the rubble after the three that were now running away again. He glared hatefully at the three and rested his hand against the wall, sending a rush of energy through it and causing the wall to blow up, cutting off any chance of escape for the three.

"You've got to be kidding me." He whipped around as he heard footsteps approaching, moving protectively in front of Caden. "Stay behind me, Caden."

Caden nodded, unable to find his voice to speak. His legs were shaking badly as the man approached them. The last time he'd been this afraid was when the monster had come and killed his father.

"Who the hell are you and why are you after us?" Edward hissed.

The man stared at them. "There are those who create and those who destroy…"

"Guess there's no other choice." Edward muttered, placing his hand on a pipe sticking out beside him. "Caden, stay here and don't move, no matter what. Understand?"

Caden nodded numbly, pressing himself tightly against the wall. Flashes of the night his father died passed through his mind. His father had said the exact same thing to him before he'd been torn to pieces. He watched in horror as Edward and Alphonse charged at the man. "Al!" He screamed when the man destroyed a large chunk of Alphonse's armor, revealing nothing inside. "Stop it…" He sniffled, his tears mixing with the rain falling. Edward was alone against the man now, though he wasn't doing much better on his own. Caden took a hesitant step away from the wall before rushing over to Al's side. "Are you okay, Al?"

"Get out of here, Caden." Alphonse whispered.

Caden was about to protest when he heard the most horrible sound in the world, like something shattering. He looked up to see the man had completely destroyed Edward's automail arm. "Edward!"

Edward sat on the ground, dumbfounded. "Am I the only one you're after?" He grit out, knowing there was no way he could escape. "My little brother Al…and Caden…are you going to kill them too?"

The man nodded slowly. "If anyone gets in my way, I'll eliminate them. However, you are the only one I have business with right now."

"Then promise me…promise me you won't hurt either of them." Edward said softly.

"Edward, no!" Caden shouted. He rushed towards where Scar was reaching out to Edward. He could hear Alphonse dragging himself behind him, screaming for Edward to run. Caden cried out as he fell to the ground. He looked up, tears blurring his vision. He couldn't see Edward anymore. It was happening again; somebody else was going to die in order to protect him. He blinked as the chalk from his pocket had fallen out and rolled against his hand. Grasping the chalk in his hand, Caden did his best to draw a transmutation circle. It was so hard to see… "Leave Edward alone!" Caden screamed, sending a tidal wave of rock at the man as a gunshot rang through the air.

The man barely had time to step out of the way as the rocks hit right where he had been. He glared over at where Roy, Riza, Havoc, and a few other soldiers were now standing.

"Go check on him." Alphonse said as Caden shakily stood up and looked between the two brothers. "I'll be fine."

Caden nodded before running over to Edward. "Are you okay, Edward?"

Edward nodded numbly. "Colonel, he's…"

"That man is the prime suspect for all the recent killings of State Alchemist. From what I've just seen, that suspicion is now a fact. He is also the suspect in the murders at Shou Tucker's estate." Roy explained coolly.

"Caden, what are you doing here?" Riza asked, becoming more tense then she had been moments ago.

"I'm sorry, Riza-neesan." Caden said softly.

"Alchemist destroy the perfection that God created." The man said, clenching his fist. "I am an instrument of divine judgment. If you insist on getting in my way, I'll kill you."

Caden blinked as Riza knocked Roy down as the man charged at them before shooting at the man. "What'd you do that for, Riza-neesan?"

Riza sighed as Roy straightened. "The colonel is useless on rainy days. He can't make sparks."

Caden couldn't help grinning at the dejected look on Roy's face at being called useless. He looked up at the man that had leapt onto the roof above them. He could see how furious the man was even without being able to see his eyes. Caden shuddered as he thought back to his brief encounter with the man earlier. He hadn't seemed so hateful then.

"I'll destroy everyone here!" The man shouted furiously.

"I'd like to see you try!"

Caden didn't know whether to be awed or disgusted by the large man that smashed the wall behind the man. "Edward…who is that?" Caden asked as the man gave a long winded speech to the man.

"That would be the Strong Arm Alchemist." Havoc answered. "Major Alex Louis Armstrong."

"Huh…" Caden said after a moment. "He's crazy…" Was all Caden could think to say as Armstrong tore up the street fighting the man.

"Major, please stop tearing up the street!" Havoc shouted.

Armstrong glanced over his shoulder. "What creates also destroys and what destroys also creates! Creation and destruction are two sides of the same coin! In order to build, we must tear down! That is the great law of the cosmos!"

"Edward…why'd he just rip his shirt off?" Caden asked, his disgust officially winning over his awe. "Please don't ever be like that, Edward. He's crazy."

Armstrong heard Caden and smirked. "You think so, boy? A fellow alchemist understands what I say. Right, Scar?"

"He's an alchemist too?" Roy said, clearly surprised as he came to stand beside Edward.

Caden frowned. "But…didn't he just say that he doesn't like alchemist?"

"Remember the three stages of alchemy, Caden?" Edward asked as Scar and Armstrong continued fighting.

Caden nodded. "Analysis, destruction, and reconstruction…" His eyes suddenly widened. "Scar stops at the second stage; destruction! That doesn't change the fact that he's going against what he says by being an alchemist."

Edward nodded in agreement. "And why is he only going after State Alchemist?"

Caden was about to say something more when Riza crouched a few feet beside him with a rifle and shot multiple rounds at Scar. His eyes widened as Scar managed to dodge all of them, save for one that grazed his head and knocked his sunglasses off. What shocked him was when the man looked up at them with hateful red eyes. He'd never seen eyes like that before.

"He's an Ishbalan!" Roy said, clearly surprised.

Caden wanted to ask Roy what an Ishbalan was. He'd never heard of them before and certainly never seen anyone that looked like Scar ever.

"Don't try and run." Roy said firmly as Scar crouched down. "We have you surrounded."

Scar glared at all of them before slamming his hand down on the ground and creating a large hole into the sewers where he disappeared.

Caden ignored the chaos around him and rushed after Edward over to where Alphonse was resting against the wall of the alleyway. "Are you okay, Al?" Caden asked worriedly.

"Idiot!" Alphonse shouted as he punched Edward in the face. "Why didn't you take Caden and run when I told you to?"

"I didn't want to just leave you here…" Edward said pitifully.

"That's why you're stupid!" Alphonse shouted, punching Edward again.

Deciding it was in his best interest to get away, Caden went over to where Riza and the others were. He looked down sheepishly when she fixed him with a stern look. "I'm sorry, Riza-neesan. I just wanted to show Edward what I'd made for Nina. I wanted to try and make him feel better…"

Riza sighed as Caden showed her the stone he had transmuted. "It's all right. Just don't disobey me again."

Caden nodded his head rapidly. "Yes ma'am." He blinked as a man came over and crouched in front of him. Caden frowned. Who're you?"

The man grinned and ruffled Caden's sopping wet hair. "I'm Lieutenant Colonel Hughes. It's a pleasure to meet you, Caden Hawkeye."

Caden nodded slowly. "Same." As soon as he heard Edward and Alphonse's voices quiet down, he went back over to them. He knelt beside Edward. "I'm sorry I was so useless. I'm going to get stronger so I can help you guys next time, I promise!"

Edward grinned at Caden as Riza draped her jacket over his shoulders. "You did pretty good. The fact that you made a transmutation circle in the rain is awesome enough. Plus, you helped stop Scar from killing me, so I owe you one." He reached out with his arm and patted Caden's head. "You're pretty good, for a kid."

All Caden could do was grin as tears of relief fell from his eyes.

* * *

Caden listened quietly as Roy explained to him, Edward, and Alphonse about the civil war that led to the genocide of the Ishbalan people. He also explained how alchemist had been used by the military specifically to annihilate the Ishbalans and how Roy himself had been one of the alchemist. Caden frowned as Riza resumed drying his hair with a towel. "So, this Scar guy is going after State Alchemist for revenge?"

Roy nodded. "There's a certain sense of justice in one of the last surviving Ishbalans seeking revenge."

Edward frowned at the worried look on Caden's face. "That's not justice. No matter what Scar says, he's involving innocent people in his revenge."

Hughes nodded. "We're talking about a guy who uses the very thing he hates to get his revenge. It means he's either completely insane or he just doesn't care what others think of him. Either way, he's a very dangerous man."

"It makes no difference." Roy said coldly. "Next time we meet him, we will kill him."

Hughes noticed the shudder that went through Caden. "On that cheerful note, we'll end this conversation. What are you two planning to do now?" He asked the Elric Brothers.

"I want to fix Al's body, but I can't do it with one arm." Edward said thoughtfully.

"Would you like for me to fix him?" Armstrong asked, standing up.

"No!" Alphonse and Caden shouted together. "Don't touch Al, weirdo." Caden said, standing protectively in front of the younger Elric brother.

"I'm the only one that knows how to keep Al's soul attached to his body." Edward explained. "I'll need to get a new arm first."

Riza nodded. "That's true. Without his alchemy, Edward is…"

"A brat that swears a lot." Havoc offered.

"An arrogant pipsqueak." Hughes chimed in.

"Useless." Roy and Caden said together. The two looked at each other for a moment before actually grinning at each other.

"Not you too, Caden!" Edward shouted. He sighed in annoyance. "Looks like I've got no choice. I'll have to go see my mechanic."


	6. Dr Marcoh

**Mew Phong: Lol, I'll see what I can do about that Mail Order Caden. Until then, here's the next chapter!**

**Sakura02: You know what, maybe I don't like the letter 's'! Did you ever think of that?**

**Thanks: pepsipiggy, No one important, Icealeena, and Storygirl95 for your reviews!**

* * *

"You want to go with them, don't you." Riza said quietly to Caden. The two were watching from Roy's office as Edward was reluctantly dragged away from Eastern Headquarters by Armstrong with poor Alphonse loaded into a large box like luggage. All the adults had agreed it would be unwise for the Elric Brothers to travel alone and, unfortunately for Edward, the only person available was Armstrong.

Caden pressed his face against the window, his breath fogging up the window. Edward had looked back at them as Armstrong had dragged him out the door of Roy's office, looking as though he wanted to say something. Now, Edward was standing at the bottom of the steps, looking up at the window where Caden was. He grinned and waved up at the little boy before turning and following after Armstrong who had Alphonse's box up on his shoulder. "I just found you, though. You're my family. I should stay with you."

Riza sighed and placed a gentle hand on Caden's shoulder. Something about the little boy brought out her softer side. She lightly squeezed his shoulder. "I didn't ask you what you should do, I asked what you wanted to do. Now, do you want to go with the Elric Brothers? I'm not an Alchemist and I'm not going to allow the Colonel to train you. Edward is really your only option."

Caden tilted his head up, his brown eyes connecting with Riza's own. There was a hopeful light in his. "You wouldn't be upset?"

"You'll always have a place here to call home, Caden." Riza said quietly. She knelt in front of her little cousin and gave him a small smile. "Go with them. Learn to be a great Alchemist just like your father was." Riza let out a small gasp as Caden suddenly hugged her. Hesitantly, she hugged the small boy back and held him for a moment. She pulled away abruptly and stood. "Now, you better hurry before they get too far away."

"Thank you, Riza-neesan!" Caden hugged her quickly around the waist before running out the door. He nearly knocked over Roy and the others as he bolted from headquarters. He shouted a quick apology and goodbye to them, never slowing down. "Edward, Al, I'm coming with you guys!"

* * *

"Well, at least you're here." Edward muttered. He couldn't enjoy the comfortable train as his poor body was squished between Armstrong's rather large one and the window. He managed a small smile as Caden gave him an excited grin from his spot across from him. In truth, he was glad that Caden had decided to come along with them. Things would seem oddly quiet without the little boy around otherwise. Edward's thoughts were broken as there was a light rap at the window. "Oh, Lieutenant Colonel Hughes." He opened the window quickly to hear what Hughes had to say.

Hughes grinned warmly at them. "The guys at Headquarters are too busy to come down here so I came to see you off instead. I have a message for you, Edward, from Roy. He says 'I won't allow you to die in my jurisdiction because it'd be a pain to clean up the mess'."

Edward snarled. "Tell him I understand and that I'd never die before a damn idiot like him."

Caden giggled while Armstrong chastised Edward for using such language in front of a child. He leaned out the window and stared at Hughes for a moment. "Hey, Hughes, can you give Riza-neesan a message for me?"

Hughes bent down so he was closer to Caden's face. "Of course. What is it?"

Caden chewed on his lip thoughtfully for a moment. The smoke from the train was filling the air and the sound of the conductor's whistle warned that they would be leaving soon. "Tell her I'll miss her and I'll say goodnight every night to her and that I'll be home real soon!"

"You're a good kid, Caden Hawkeye." Hughes ruffled Caden's hair affectionately before straightening. The train let out an ear piercing whistle warning that it was time to leave. "I've got a daughter a little younger than you. Maybe if you come to Central, I'll let you play with her."

Caden nodded and pulled his head in as the train began pulling away. He returned the salute Hughes gave them along with Armstrong and Edward. His eyes widened in panic as he realized he'd forgotten to tell Hughes one more thing. He stuck his head out the window, ignoring Edward and Armstrong's protest. "Hughes, tell Colonel Roy that he better keep his hands to himself and not touch my Riza-neesan!" He couldn't hear Hughes's answer, but he was fairly certain he saw the Lieutenant Colonel laughing as the train pulled completely away from the station. He slouched down in his seat and sighed contently. He'd never sat in such a soft seat before. He watched as Edward pulled the window shut. "So, what's an automail mechanic? I've never heard of one before."

Edward shrugged nonchalantly. "To be more accurate, they're a surgeon and a weaponsmith that specializes in prostheses and is also an automail expert. They'll give me a good deal because I've known them for forever and they do an awesome job."

Caden watched Edward's face. There was an almost wistful look in Edward's eyes as he stared out the window and scenery flashing by. Caden looked outside as well, curious as to what could possibly hold Edward's attention like that. All he saw were trees and hills whipping by so fast that he hardly had time to notice one before they passed five more that looked just like it. He looked back at Edward. "What about Resembool? What's it like?"

Again, Edward gave a noncommittal shrug. "It's just a quiet little town with nothing for miles. Actually, almost everything got destroyed because of the civil war in the East. If the military had been more on top of things, Resembool would probably be a bustling, thriving town."

Armstrong cleared his throat. "I'm sitting right here, you know."

"I know. Should I say more?" Again, the wistful smile crossed Edward's face and Caden almost wondered if Edward was even aware of what he was doing. "It's really a quiet place. It may be in the middle nowhere, but it has so many things you can't get in the city. It's where me and Al grew up…" Edward's wistful expression fell away and he glared suspiciously at Armstrong. "…you did remember to put Al on this train, right?"

Armstrong nodded, his chest puffing up, clearly very proud of himself. "I took care of everything. I actually put him in the livestock car with all the sheep."

Caden's eyes widened as Edward let out a horrified yell. "Why would you put Al with the sheep? He's not livestock! He's a real boy!"

Armstrong held his hands up defensively as Edward continued furiously yelling at him. "I thought he might get lonely by himself in the baggage car. Now, he has soft wooly friends that he can talk to."

After Edward calmed down, he moved to sit by Caden with the excuse that he was going to help him improve on his alchemy even more. Caden knew Edward just wanted an excuse to get away from Armstrong, but he wasn't going to rat Edward out. Besides, Edward really was helping him out with his alchemy. He showed Caden how to better improve the minute details of his transmutation circle that would enable Caden to transmute even better.

By late afternoon, Caden was growing rather drowsy from the long train ride. He found himself nodding off, his chin resting against his chest as his breathing began to slowly even out. The tendrils of a dream were coming to him, the sound of his father's voice and his mother's laughter when he was suddenly jolted from his light sleep by Edward shaking his shoulders roughly. Yawning, Caden looked sleepily around. "Are we already in Resembool?"

"Not quite." Edward said as he tugged the groggy child along. "Major Armstrong saw someone he recognized. We're making a quick stop in this town."

Caden grumbled as Edward dragged him off the train. "Who is he?"

Edward was silent for a moment, his grip on Caden's hand not loosening. He hesitated before finally speaking. "His name is Dr. Marcoh. Apparently, he was involved with the Alchemy Research Department in Central and was studying alchemy for medicinal purposes. He might know something about biological transmutation so I want to find him." Without even really thinking, Edward looked down at where his automail arm should be.

"Oh." Was all Caden could really think to say. He wrinkled his nose as they pulled Al from the livestock car. He smelled like a sheep. Caden was rather surprised that Edward was still holding his hand, but he decided not to point it out to the older boy. It was comforting to Caden and he didn't want to lose that feeling of comfort anytime soon. He obediently followed as Edward and Armstrong asked everyone they came across about the man. They found that he was going by the name 'Mauro' instead of 'Marcoh'. Everyone in the village seemed to truly love the doctor as he treated any and all patients for free.

"He's using alchemy, isn't he." Caden said as they walked to the house the villagers had said Marcoh was living in. One of the women had gushed about there being a flash of light and then the person was miraculously healed.

Edward nodded thoughtfully, occasionally casting worried glances over to poor Al who was being carried on Armstrong's shoulders, still in the box. "Most likely. Why would he change his name though? Is he hiding from something?"

Armstrong grunted as they made their way up the steep stairs that led to Marcoh's home. Caden wasn't sure how Armstrong was able to tell which of the smooth stone houses was Marcoh's. They all looked the same to Caden with the only difference being that some had little flower boxes in their windows and others did not. Armstrong shifted Al on his shoulder so as not to drop the poor boy. "When the doctor disappeared, some top-secret research material mysteriously disappeared as well. It's always been rumored that Doctor Marcoh was the one that took it. Perhaps he thought we were here to take him back to Central."

Caden looked around their surroundings while Edward knocked on the door. It was a gorgeous day, the late afternoon sun hanging low in the sky. A light breeze cooled off what would have otherwise been a rather warm day. Caden was pulled from his admiration of the scenery around him by a gunshot and a bullet whizzing just inches from his nose. He let out a rather undignified squeal and quickly hid behind Edward. "Take him! He's the one you want!"

"What the hell, Caden?" Edward shouted, clutching his chest in an effort to slow his erratic breathing. The bullet had come even closer to hitting him as Marcoh had been pointing the gun directly at Edward's face. "See if I ever help you with your alchemy again!"

Marcoh looked between them, a terrified and wild look on his face. He clutched the gun in his trembling hands and pointed it at each of them in turn. "What did you come here for? Are you here to take me back?"

Armstrong held up one hand to try and placate the terrified man. "Please calm down, Doctor…"

"I'll never go back to that place!" Marcoh shouted, his voice edging on hysterics. "Let me go, please, I'm begging you!"

Again, Armstrong spoke as calmly as possible, though Caden swore he could see a twitch forming in the giant man's eye. "That's not it at all. Please, listen to me…"

"So you've come here to kill me then!" Marcoh continued yelling, the trembling in his hand growing even worse. "You've come to shut me up for good!"

"Could you possibly lower your gun?" Armstrong asked, the patience in his voice becoming frayed.

"You can't fool me!" Marcoh screamed.

Armstrong had had enough. He held the box with Al in it with both hands and threw it on top of the rather shocked doctor. "I said please calm down!"

Caden made a vow right then and there to never anger the giant Major. After they were finally able to explain everything to the still shaken, but much calmer Marcoh, Marcoh led them to a table and sat down with all of them around him. "It was horrible, having to obey their orders and dirtying my hands to research what I did…and then, to see it used in the Civil War in such a way that hundreds and thousands of lives were lost. I'll never be able to make up for my actions, but I try and do what I can here."

"What were you researching that was so bad?" Caden asked curiously. He looked around at the rather sparse house. There were a few shelves and a cabinet with various medicines and jars cluttered on them. There was a bed for patients in one corner and medical equipment beside it as well as a desk against the far wall. All in all, a rather plain house.

Marcoh bit his lip, unsure if he should speak. Slowly, hesitantly, he stood up and went over to the cabinet. He pulled out a tiny bottle with a red liquid inside. Clutching the bottle tightly in his hand, he looked at the four of them nervously. "I was making the Philosopher's Stone."

Caden didn't miss the way Edward sucked his breath in. He knew how badly Edward wanted the stone and how desperately he had been searching for it. He looked over at Edward as was surprised at how composed Edward managed to keep his face. Caden frowned as Marcoh came back to the table. "It's called the Philosopher's Stone, right? So, shouldn't it be a stone and not liquid."

Marcoh pulled the stopper off the bottle and allowed the liquid to drip out. Edward nearly screamed in horror, but was surprised when the liquid almost congealed and became a squishy little mass in the center of the table. He had to slap Caden's hand away as the boy continually poked it. "Just as the stone has many names," Marcoh said calmly. "so does it take many forms. This is only for experimental purposes, though. It's an imperfect compound. I don't know when it will cease to work."

"Like Cornello!" Caden piped up, remembering the fake priest from the desert town. He jumped as Edward jumped up excitedly from his seat.

"Dr. Marcoh, please let me see your research!" Edward asked, his voice and eyes wild with excitement.

Dr. Marcoh was taken aback. He looked to Armstrong for answers. "Who is this child and what does he want with that kind of data?"

"He's a State Alchemist." Armstrong said solemnly. He didn't miss how Marcoh's shoulders slumped and the crestfallen look on the doctor's face.

"At such a young age…" Marcoh lamented. "Do you know how many alchemists threw their licenses away after the war? I was not the only one that hated being used as a weapon. Yet you still…"

"I know it was a dumb thing to do." Edward grit out. The passion for his cause had not left his eyes once since he'd laid eyes on the stone. I had to do it in order to achieve my goal! If I can get what I want in the end, then I'll gladly sleep on this bed of nails I made for myself." Edward explained to Marcoh everything that happened to him and his brother.

Even though this wasn't the first time Caden had heard this story, he still felt his heart ache. He sometimes wondered if it was for what the Elric Brothers had gone through, or if it was for what he hadn't done. If he hadn't been such a coward…if he hadn't hidden…would his mother still be alive?

After Edward had finished his tale, Marcoh sat there quietly for a while. "So, you committed the ultimate sin. The fact that you were able to transmute a soul is very impressive. You just may have the talent to make a complete Philosopher's Stone."

The excited gleam returned to Edward's eyes. "So, you'll show me your data?"

"No." Marcoh said in a rather harsh tone as he stood up to put the small bottle with the incomplete Philosopher's Stone back in the cabinet. "I've said everything I'm going to say to you lot. The stone shouldn't be used for something so trite as getting you and your brother your original bodies back."

"Don't talk to Edward like that!" Caden shouted angrily. How dare this man look down on Edward's goal. What could this man possibly know about the pain and suffering Edward and Alphonse had gone through. He blinked as Edward pulled him back with a tight grip on his shoulder. He looked up into Edward's face and could see he was barely able to contain his anger. He quickly grabbed Edward's hand and held it tightly, hoping to give even a small sense of comfort to him.

Marcoh kept his back to them. "No one will ever see my research. It will only lead one straight down the path to Hell."

"I've already seen Hell." Edward hissed. "Let's go, Al, Major, Caden." He spun on his heels and stormed out of the house, still clutching Caden's hand tightly in his own while Armstrong picked Al in his box up and put him back on his shoulder.

Edward didn't say anything as they made their way through the town and back to the train station to wait for the next train. When they were finally seated on a bench with Caden sitting in between Edward and Armstrong and Al sitting beside the bench by Edward, Caden dared to speak. "Are you okay, Edward?"

Armstrong nodded his head solemnly. "You didn't get to see Marcoh's research, but you could've taken the stone by force if you had wanted to."

Edward grinned and ruffled Caden's hair. "Yeah, I really wanted that stone. It didn't seem right to take away what he was using to heal all these people. It would've left a bad taste in my mouth." He turned to Al, the grin still on his face. "I'll just have to find another way to get us our bodies back." He turned his attention to Armstrong. "What about you? Don't you have to report Marcoh to Central?"

Armstrong straightened up in his seat and puffed his chest out. "All I found was an ordinary doctor named Mauro."

Caden chuckled. Despite Armstrong's odd appearance and personality, he was actually a rather good guy. Caden looked down the train tracks towards the setting sun. He hadn't realized they'd been talking to Marcoh for so long.

"Hey!" Marcoh was there suddenly, panting as he tried to catch his breath. He walked over to the group that had quickly stood up at his arrival. Clutched tightly in his hand was a plain white envelope. He handed it to Edward who looked at him questioningly. "This is where I hid my data. If you are able to look the truth in the face, then do it. Perhaps you will be able to reach the truth within the truth."

Caden frowned. "That makes no sense. What does that mean?"

Marcoh gave Caden a wane smile and patted him on the head. "It is not something one so young and innocent as you should seek. You have not yet seen Hell and there is no reason for you to see it."

Caden bit his tongue. He'd seen Hell. Maybe not in the exact same way as the Elric Brothers, but he had. He didn't feel like talking about it just yet to anybody, though, and so he kept his thoughts to himself. He bowed politely to Marcoh as did Edward as the doctor left, waving goodbye. When Marcoh had disappeared, Caden began tugging on Edward's sleeve impatiently. "What's it say? Where's the data?"

Edward opened up the envelope and slowly unfolded the paper inside. His eyes widened as he carefully read the words. "National Central Library, First Branch."

"Wouldn't somebody find it there, though?" Caden asked, unsure if Marcoh was as smart as Armstrong had made him out to be.

"If you want to hide a tree, put it in a forest." Armstrong said, obvious admiration in his voice. "There are millions of volumes held within the National Central Library."

Edward grinned tightly as he clutched the paper in his hand. The train pulled up at that moment and they quickly boarded, poor Al having to once again go into the livestock car. His grip on the paper never loosened even after they had sat down and the train began moving. "Once we're done in Resembool, we're heading to Central. Caden, you can head back to Eastern Headquarters whenever you want."

Caden shook his head quickly. "I'm staying with you guys until you get your bodies back! Riza-neesan said it was okay and Hughes will make sure the Colonel keeps his hands to himself. Besides, you're the only person I want to teach me alchemy!"

Edward laughed. "All right! I won't go easy on you just because you're a kid, though!"

Caden simply grinned back in response.


	7. Resembool

**erica. phoenix .16: How his parents died will be revealed later on :)**

**Sakura02: Lol, despite how much Caden torments Edward, he really does look up to him**

**Akuryou Ayame: Yes, this is based off the manga**

**Thanks: pepsipiggy, MewPhong, and Kuma the wolf alchemist for reviewing!**

* * *

Caden had always thought he grew up in a small town. When they got off the train at the Resembool station and began walking towards Edward's mechanic's home, Caden found himself corrected. There weren't many homes lining the dirt road they were walking on and most of the land was used as farming land. He perked up as a dog with an automail leg trotted over to them. He grinned as the dog sniffed curiously at him before licking his face. "What's his name?"

Edward grinned and patted the dog on the head. "This is Den." He looked up as a short old lady walked up to them. "Hey, long time no see, Pinako-basan. Looks like I'm going to need your help again." He said to Pinako as she finally reached them, his smile never wavering.

Pinako nodded to Edward, eyeing Armstrong and Caden curiously. "Who might these two be?"

"Oh, this is Major Armstrong and Caden Hawkeye." Edward introduced the two.

Caden smiled as Pinako appraised him. "It's nice to meet you, Pinako-san. Are you going to fix Edward up?"

Before Pinako could respond, a wrench was flung from the upper floor balcony of the house. While Caden and Armstrong looked thoroughly shocked while Pinako and Alphonse were unfazed. Caden had to squint against the bright sunlight to see who it was that was shouting angrily down at Edward. "Who's that?"

"Winry, you could've killed me!" Edward shouted angrily, rubbing the spot on his head that had been hit with the wrench.

Pinako rolled her eyes and ushered everyone in. While Winry screeched at Edward for destroying his arm, Pinako brought out hot mugs of tea for everyone. Caden grinned, happily sipping his tea while he looked around the house. The house itself was decorated fairly simply, nothing fancy or extravagant around. There was a lingering smell of oil that permeated the house which Caden found oddly comforting.

Once Edward had finished explaining everything, Pinako sighed as she blew smoke from her pipe. "So, you boys want to get done here as soon as possible so you can get to Central and find out information about the Philosopher's Stone. I can have everything ready in three days."

"Wow, you must be really amazing at making automail." Caden said, awed that the old woman was so confident with her own abilities. He blinked as Edward got up and started helping Alphonse out of the box. "Where are you two going?"

"We're just going out for some fresh air." Edward said, ruffling Caden's hair as he walked by. "Stay put and don't cause too much trouble."

Winry chuckled as Caden stuck his tongue out at the retreating backs of the Elric brothers. "Hey, Caden, wanna come help me make Edward's arm."

Caden's eyes lit up with sheer excitement. "Can I?" At Winry's affirmative nod, Caden let out a whoop of joy and rushed off after Winry as she went to her workshop. Caden plopped himself down at a small stool that Winry gestured to beside her worktable. The two sat in a comfortable silence for a while with silence only being broken by Winry asking Caden to bring her a tool or part that she needed.

"So, how'd you get stuck with those two? Do your parents know?" Winry asked after a bit. She didn't miss the way Caden tensed up. "It's okay; you don't have to say anything if you don't want to."

"My parents are dead." Caden said softly, his grin disappearing and his face sobering up. "I was looking for my cousin and I met them in this desert town. It's thanks to them that I found my cousin." Caden grinned as he spoke. "They're really nice and I like traveling with them so my cousin let me go with them."

Winry smirked as she continued working on Edward's arm. "You must be pretty hard headed to travel with those two."

"Edward's teaching me alchemy." Caden said proudly. "I'm getting really good at it too! Don't tell Edward this, but I hope I can be just like him when I get older…well, I don't want to be as short as him." Caden grinned as Winry laughed loudly. "So, are you Edward's girlfriend?"

Winry choked on her laughter. "I'm not his girlfriend. We're just childhood friends."

Caden nodded and said nothing for a beat while Winry went back to working. "You know, that's what people always say in books and stuff and then they wind up getting married." He grinned as Winry's hand slipped and she dropped her wrench.

* * *

Caden couldn't help flinching as Winry and Pinako reconnected Edward's arm and leg. He couldn't imagine how painful it must be to have the nerves connect to the automail. Without really thinking, Caden rubbed his arm to reassure himself that it was still there. He then watched as Edward practically skipped over to Alphonse and fixed his younger brother right up.

"Caden, come with us." Edward said calmly as he and Alphonse walked by.

"Yes sir." Caden mock saluted and followed the two outside. "What're we doing out here?" He asked curiously.

Edward grinned as he tied his hair back in his customary braid. "If you're going to keep traveling with us, you need to know how to fight. Now, hold your arms up…"

Caden mimicked every move that Edward showed him carefully. His sharp brown eyes followed every one of Edward's movements and he even did a few practice moves with Edward. Eventually, Edward instructed Caden to sit and observe while Alphonse and Edward sparred. Caden watched the two spar for a bit until Armstrong came out to join in the fray.

"Come train with us, Caden!" Armstrong shouted, holding Edward in a headlock with one arm and reaching out to Caden with his free hand.

"I'll pass…" Caden said, pressing his back against the wall of the house for protection. He breathed a sigh of relief as Armstrong resumed training with the two brothers. It wasn't until the sun was setting that they all made their way in for dinner.

Dinner was chaotic, to say the least. Caden was silent through most of dinner and just listened to the banter between the Elric brothers, Pinako, and Winry. It had been a long time since he'd been part of such a lively dinner. The last time had been the last dinner when both his parents were still alive. Caden blinked as a rough hand landed on his head. He looked up only to find Edward not looking at him and still devouring his food. "What?"

Edward swallowed his food. "Eat."

"If you don't eat, you'll grow up to be short and stumpy like Edward." Winry said, laughing loudly while Edward shouted and Caden began quickly shoveling his food down.

Later in the evening, Edward and Caden were alone, laying head to head on the large futon in the living room. "Hey, Edward, are you really okay with me going with you guys?"

Edward rolled his eyes to try and see the sulking child. "Do you really think I would've let you come with us if you annoyed me that badly."

Caden managed a small laugh. "I guess not." The two lapsed into a small silence again for a while. Caden soon felt himself drifting off to sleep, the sound of Edward's even breathing lulling him into the first restful sleep he'd had in a long time. For once, his dreams weren't filled with the usual nightmare of his father and mother dying, but of his cousin Riza waiting for him to come home.

* * *

Caden yawned sleepily and rubbed his eyes. They were standing outside the Rockbell residence, the sun setting on the horizon. Somehow, they'd wound up sleeping the day away and were just now starting to leave for Central. "Thanks for letting us stay here, Pinako-san."

Pinako grinned and patted Caden on the head. "You're welcome back here anytime."

"Where's Winry?" Alphonse asked curiously, looking around for the missing girl.

Pinako sighed tiredly. "She's still asleep because of all the all-nighters she had to pull. Want me to go wake her up?"

"Don't bother." Edward said, ignoring how Caden's shoulders slumped. "If you wake her up, she's just going to nag me about automail maintenance. Let's go." He grabbed Caden's hand and led the small boy off. "We'll see you later."

"Ed! Al! Caden!" Winry slouched against the railing of the upstairs balcony and waved sleepily down at them. "See you later."

"I like her." Caden said as they walked off. "We should come visit them again soon. Maybe Scar will destroy your arm again." He grinned as Edward shouted angrily and ran away as Edward shouted angrily at him.


	8. Research

**Hello again, everyone! I'm going to start putting updates on my profile every Sunday so that you can all see what's going on and whether I'll be updating the upcoming week or not. Also, I'll start revealing little tidbits and hints of new stories to come so check my profile every Sunday!**

**Sakura02: Oh Edward…he needs to stop breaking his arm just so he can see his woman XD**

**Thanks: Mew Phong, Midnight Blue Cross, and sakura2112 for reviewing!**

* * *

Caden yawned and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He had finally come to the conclusion that he hated trains. They were so boring and there was nothing to do but eat and sleep on them. He blinked as Edward shouted excitedly and ran off the train and onto the platform. "You're weird, Edward."

"We're finally here!" Edward crowed excitedly when the others finally caught up to him. He grinned down at Caden and ruffled the boy's hair. "Look more alive, Caden. We're in Central!"

Caden frowned and batted Edward's hand away. "That's nice." He wondered if he should call Riza and let her know that he was okay. He decided he would once they had settled in and Edward wasn't acting so weird. He looked up as two soldiers, a man and a woman, approached them. "Who're they?"

The woman smiled and saluted. "We've come here to escort you, Major Armstrong."

Armstrong nodded to them. "Thank you. Caden, this is Second Lieutenant Ross," he motioned to the woman who was now smiling warmly at Caden. "and that is Sergeant Brosh. This is Caden Hawkeye."

Caden saluted the two. "It's nice to meet you both."

Both Ross and Brosh nodded to him before turning their attention to the Elric twins. "You must be the Fullmetal Alchemist. I'm Maria Ross and this is Denny Brosh. It's an honor to finally get to meet you."

Caden was practically rolling on the floor with laughter as Alphonse had to point Maria and Denny over in the fuming Edward's direction. "It's because you're so short, Edward!"

Alphonse sighed and quickly scooped Caden up out of harms way while Armstrong held Edward back. "Caden, stop teasing Edward."

Armstrong finally put Edward down and sighed remorsefully. "I suppose I should go report to headquarters."

Caden's eyes widened in horror as Armstrong practically squeezed the life out of Edward with a hug. Caden clung tightly to Alphonse's head and quickly shook his head when Armstrong held his arms open to him. Thanks, but I don't hug." He saluted the Major and waited for him to disappear before he finally deemed it safe enough to climb down from Alphonse's shoulder.

Edward, Alphonse, and Caden obediently followed after Maria and Denny. They were ushered into a car and were soon heading off to the Central Library First Branch. Caden pressed his face excitedly against the window, watching as all the buildings zipped by them. He'd never been in such a huge city before. He blinked as the car finally stopped and they all started piling out. He looked slowly around, unsure of where they were. "Where's the library."

Maria sighed remorsefully as she motioned to the charred rubble of may have once been a rather magnificent building. "That's what's left of the First Branch. Yesterday, the building burned down along with everything inside. We haven't finished our investigation yet, but we're certain it's arson."

Caden poked Edward in the side. "What're we going to do now, Edward?"

Edward sighed and rubbed his temple irritably. "I don't know…"

Maria cleared her throat to catch their attention. "If we go over to the main building, they could see if Tim Marcoh's research journal is housed in any of the other branches."

They all piled back into the car and sped off towards the main library. Caden looked out the window, but he didn't really pay too much attention to the scenery. When they reached the main library, Edward ran on ahead of everyone. "He's always like that." Caden explained as Maria and Denny stared after Edward in surprise. He ran up the steps to catch up with Edward and Alphonse. By the time he did, Edward was slouched on the floor. He walked over and poked Edward in the cheek. "I think he's dead."

Alphonse sighed. "All of Marcoh's journals were destroyed in the fire…"

The woman at the main desk thought for a moment before grinning. "There was a girl that used to work at the first branch. Her name was Sheska. I could look her address up for you. She'll be able to help you."

Caden was getting rather tired of piling in and out of the car. Hopefully they wouldn't have to do this for much longer. He was tired and he really wanted to call Riza and let her know he was okay. He blinked as they pulled up to a small house that looked identical to all the houses clustered around it. He pulled on Alphonse's hand until the younger Elric put him on his shoulder. "Maybe she isn't home." Caden said after they knocked for the tenth time.

Edward frowned. "The light is on. She's gotta be home." He pulled on the door handle and was surprised when the door swung open to reveal nothing but huge stacks of books. They all silently wondered to themselves if someone actually lived there. They walked slowly in, looking around and calling out for Sheska.

"Do you guys hear that?" Caden asked. They all fell silent, not hearing anything at first. Then, the muffled sound of someone calling for help reached their ears. Caden looked around the room, trying to pinpoint where the cry was coming from. His eyes fell on a toppled pile of books. "Over there!"

The group quickly set to work moving pile after pile of books out of the way until a girl with glasses appeared, gasping for breath. "Thank you all so much! I accidentally knocked over a pile of books…I thought I was going to die under there!"

"You should be more careful." Caden chided. "Are you Sheska?"

The girl blinked and nodded. "Yes." She listened as Edward explained what had led them to her. "As you can see, I love books. When I got the job at First Branch, I was so excited. Unfortunately, I got fired because I would forget I was at work and start reading." She sniffled and rubbed her eyes. "I have to work hard to get my sick mother into a good hospital, but I'm only good at reading. I'm completely useless."

Caden stared at her with wide eyes. He tugged on Edward's sleeve. "Is she okay?"

Edward shrugged helplessly. "Look, I just wanted to ask you if you know about Tim Marcoh's journals."

Sheska thought for a moment before her eyes lit up. "Yes! I remember them because someone filed them incorrectly. His journals were the only handwritten books in the branch."

For a moment Edward looked excited, before his face once again crumbled in defeat. "So, they really did get burned down with the First Branch."

Caden sighed and patted Edward and Alphonse's backs. "It's okay. We'll figure something out."

Sheska blinked. "So, you guys wanted to read the research notes?" At Edward's remorseful nod, she smiled. "I remember what was written in every single one of them. I have a photographic memory so I only have to read something once and I can remember everything without error. It may take a bit, but I can transcribe them for you, if you'd like."

Caden had to cover his ears at Edward's scream of joy. He really didn't understand people sometimes.

* * *

"Edward, this is boring!" Caden whined as he slouched over the piece of journal he was supposed to be trying to decipher. After five days, Sheska had completely transcribed the notes for Edward. They had been trying to decipher Marcoh's journals, which were disguised as a recipe book, for a week now. Caden called Riza each night to let her know that he was okay and to make sure that Roy wasn't working her too hard. She'd always chuckle at his worry and assure him she was fine.

"Come on, Caden." Edward encouraged while glaring at the paper in front of him. "If you're going to be an alchemist, you're going to have to come up with your own secret code to keep your notes in. Think of this as a challenge."

Caden pouted. "I hate challenges…" They all looked up at the sound of someone clearing their throat. Caden grinned and waved. "Hi, Sheska."

Sheska smiled nervously as she came over to them. "Thank you, Edward-san. Thanks to the money you gave me, I was able to transfer my mother to an excellent hospital. I feel bad about accepting so much money, though…"

Edward waved his hand dismissively. "Please. I got off cheap compared to what the secret in these journals are worth."

"I see…" Sheska looked at all of them slowly. "How is your deciphering coming along?" She regretted asking when she saw how defeated they all looked. "I'm sorry."

"What about you, Sheska?" Caden asked, trying to change the subject. "Have you found a new job yet?" He smiled apologetically when he saw Sheska slump in defeat. "Sorry."

Sheska quickly shook it off and smiled. "Thank you again for everything."

"Don't worry about the money." Edward assured again, glancing impatiently back down at the notes in front of him.

"It's not just the money." Sheska said softly, causing Alphonse, Edward, and Caden to look back up at her. "It just makes me so happy to know that someone as useless as me was able to help out. Thank you." She blinked as Caden was suddenly on the table in her face.

"You're not useless!" Caden protested. "I think it's totally cool that you have something like a photographic memory! I wish I had one!"

Alphonse nodded in agreement. "You're so passionate about reading and books. Being that passionate is a talent in itself. Plus, with your memory, I'm sure you'll be able to do something."

Sheska smiled at all of them again. "Thanks!"

Caden perked up when Hughes walked into the room. He saluted him as did Edward and Alphonse. "Hi, Hughes."

Hughes grinned at them and ruffled Caden's hair. "Your cousin asked me to check up on you and make sure these boys were taking good care of you. I would've come and seen you guys sooner, but we've been so busy lately. We haven't even closed the Tucker Chimera case yet…" He sighed when he saw the downcast looks on Edward, Alphonse, and Caden's faces. "Sorry, I didn't mean to bring up a sore subject."

"If you're so busy, then why are you here?" Caden yelped as Edward thwacked him on the head and told him to be more polite.

Hughes laughed. "I'm just on break right now so I thought I'd come say hi. We've been really slowed down since the First Branch burned down. We had all our records for the court martial office stored there. Now they're all gone…"

Caden, Edward, and Alphonse blinked and looked at Hughes, then each other, and then finally over at Sheska. "Um, Hughes…" Caden quickly told Hughes about Sheska. He jumped a bit when Hughes stood up excitedly.

Sheska yelped in surprise. "Well, it is true that I did read all the court martial records…"

Edward grinned over at Hughes. "What do you think? We're trying to find her a job."

Hughes grabbed Sheska by the back of her sweater and began dragging her off. "We'll go take care of the paperwork right now! You're going to make a great salary working for us!"

Caden waved nervously to Hughes and Sheska as they disappeared out the door, the sound of Sheska shouting 'thanks' eventually fading away. "Just now, Hughes looked like a kidnapper."

Edward chuckled and nodded. "All right, guys. Back to work for us. We're going to decipher this code no matter what!"

* * *

"This can't be right!" Edward shouted angrily.

Caden peered down at the paper Edward had been writing on and stiffened when he saw what was written there. He barely noticed Maria and Denny run into the room as he continued to stare down at the paper. He wished they hadn't deciphered it. He wished that Sheska hadn't remembered the journals at all.

"Why are you guys so upset?" Denny asked nervously. "It's great that you finally deciphered the code."

"No it's not!" Edward shouted, slamming his fist down on the table in front of him and making Caden jump.

"Why would anyone do something like this?" Caden asked quietly. "What could be so important that they'd…."

Denny looked at the three, completely confused. "What's wrong?"

Edward sucked in a deep breath. "The main ingredient for the Philosopher's Stone is a living human being!"


	9. The Research Facility

**I'm so sorry, everyone! I hate not updating for long periods of time like this. November was a rather chaotic month between NaNoWriMo, trying to find a second job, Thanksgiving, and becoming a Dual Major. I hope you will all forgive me and continue reading and reviewing!**

**Sakura02: …now every time I type Philosopher's Stone, I'm going to think of Krabby Patties!**

**Thanks: Tailsdoll123, MewPhong, ImmortalOkamiAlchemist, and bored411 for reviewing!**

* * *

"Caden, go down and eat something." Edward ordered tiredly. He glanced over at the little boy who was sitting beside the small table in their hotel and diligently working on his transmutation circles. "You haven't eaten much of anything the past few days."

"Neither have you." Caden argued, not even bothering to look up from his work. "I'll go eat when you do." Caden tuned out Edward and Al as they began speaking quietly to each other. Caden figured it had something to do with what their next move was going to be and he didn't want to disturb them. He had just begun on a new transmutation circle when the sound of people running towards their door reached his ears. "That can't be good…"

"Edward, Alphonse, and Caden, are you in there?" Armstrong's voice rang through the entire room as though he were actually in there and screaming directly into their ears. "Open the door!"

Caden crawled onto the couch with Edward and hid behind him. "What should we do?"

Edward shook his head and shushed Caden. "The door's locked, so if we just pretend we aren't here…"

The rest of Edward's sentence was drowned out by Armstrong knocking the door off his hinges. "I heard all about it!" He sobbed. "What a tragedy it is for you to finally uncover the answers you seek, only to learn it concealed such a terrible secret! No only that, but for such horrible research to be conducted by a group under direct supervision of the military is inexcusable! I simply cannot stay quiet about this matter!"

Caden climbed up onto his customary place on Al's shoulder. "Please tell me he's not going to start hugging us."

Armstrong sniffled and wiped his eyes. "The truth can be so cruel!"

Caden was the first to notice the thoughtful look on Edward's face. "What's wrong, Edward?"

Edward glanced over at Caden. "Do you remember what Marcoh said to us at the train station?"

It took Caden a moment to ponder everything that Marcoh had said to them. After a moment, he spoke with a waver of uncertainty. "The truth within the truth?"

"Right!" Edward said, nodded quickly. "There must be something more…" He quickly asked for a map of Central City.

Armstrong brought one in and rolled it out on the table. "Right now, there are four alchemical research labs in Central City that the military oversees. Dr. Marcoh was affiliated with Lab Three. This is likely where the research took place."

Edward looked dubiously at the map. "I visited that research facility right after I got my license. It didn't seem like anything important was being researched there."

Caden's sharp eyes scanned the map. He blinked and pointed to a part on the map that had an 'x' marked over it. "What about that building? What's that?"

Maria looked at a small booklet she held in her hand. "It used to be a fifth research lab, but it was shut down years ago. It's off limits due to the danger of it collapsing."

Edward ruffled Caden's hair. "Good job, Caden. That's got to be our place."

Caden blinked and pushed Edward's hand away. "How do you know?" He asked curiously.

"There's a prison next to it." Edward explained, his eyes lighting up as he spoke. "If the main ingredient is humans, they would have needed a reliable source of material for their research. The bodies of executed criminals aren't returned to their families. They could make it look as though they were going to execute the prisoners and then secretly transported them to the research lab."

"Does that mean the government is in on this?" Caden asked, suddenly getting very nervous. Did Riza know about all of this?

Edward shrugged. "Who knows? It could go all the way to the top or just to the warden of that prison."

"This is all just speculation right now." Armstrong said, trying to sooth the nervous boy. It could be that the government isn't involved at all and that this research lab was simply acting independently."

"Who's in charge of this research department?" Al asked curiously.

Armstrong glanced at the booklet Maria was holding. "According to the registry, Brigadier General Basque Grand, also known as the 'Iron Blood Alchemist' was in charge. Don't bother trying to contact him, though." Armstrong said when he saw the excited gleam in Edward's eye. "He was murdered by Scar just a few days ago. I will investigate this situation on my own and report back to you. Until then, the Second Lieutenant and Sergeant will not speak of this to anyone and you three will stay put."

"What?" Edward, Alphonse, and Caden all shouted in unison.

Armstrong fixed them all with a terrifying scowl. "You three were planning to go investigate the abandoned lab! Don't even think about it! This is far too dangerous for children like you!"

Caden climbed up Al and hid behind his shoulder. "We won't go! Just stop yelling!"

Edward nodded and frowned. "As if we'd do something so dangerous."

Al nodded his head in agreement. "We'll wait here for your report."

* * *

"Caden, go back to the hotel, now!" Edward hissed at the little boy. The three of them were slipping quietly down the dark night streets of Central City.

"No way!" Caden whispered back from his perch on Al's shoulder. "If I go back, I'll tell on you and then you'll get in trouble!"

Edward glared at the little boy before finally sighing in resignation. "Just stay close, understand?" Once Edward had received a very excited and affirmative nod from Caden, they continued on towards the lab. Edward peered cautiously around the corner when they reached the lab. "Huh, kind of weird to have a guard guarding a supposedly abandoned lab."

"Does that mean it's not abandoned?" Caden asked curiously.

"We'll have to go in and see for ourselves." Edward answered casually. "We can just make our own entrance…"

Caden shook his head frantically. "The light from the transmutation circle would alert that guard."

"You're right." Edward said, still thinking. "Well, I guess we don't have any other choice...Al."

Caden watched Al toss Edward up onto the barb wire lined wall. "You guys are crazy." He obediently climbed onto Al's back when Edward dropped a barb wire rope down for Al to climb up on. Caden didn't dare look down, afraid to see how far off the ground they were. Once they were safely over on the other side, Caden climbed down from Al's back. "The entrance is sealed off too." Caden said when he noticed the boards covering the door.

Edward groaned in annoyance and looked around. His eyes lit up when he noticed a grate slightly above the ground. With Al's help, Edward managed to pull the grate off. "Al, you and Caden wait here." Edward said, already crawling in.

"No way!" Caden protested, tugging on Al's hand until he lifted him up. "It might be dangerous. I'll go with you since Al can't come."

"Your cousin is going to kill me." Edward grumbled. He turned his head slightly to make sure Caden was behind him. "Stay close to me."

"Bye, Al." Caden called.

"Be careful, both of you." Al whispered, sitting down on the ground to wait for their return.

Caden wasn't sure how long they'd been crawling, but it felt like forever. The already small crawl space was getting smaller and smaller the further into the lab they got. "Are you doing okay, Edward?"

Edward nodded. "This would be impossible if I was normal size. It's times like this that I'm glad I'm sm…"

Caden rolled his eyes when Edward began flailing about and whining. "Would you calm down? I want to get out of here."

Edward crawled a few more feet before knocking out another grate. He jumped out and into the lab. He caught Caden when the little boy jumped down as well. He looked around the dilapidated lab and frowned. "There's just enough light to illuminate the floor."

Caden noticed the small lights the lined the lower part of the wall. "So, this place isn't as abandoned as they say, huh?"

"Bingo." Edward said, grinning. "Let's go, Caden."

"Yes sir!" Caden couldn't help the grin on his face either.

The two walked in silence, following the lights along the wall until they reached an open room. It took Caden a moment to realize what is was that was on the floor of the room. "Is that a transmutation circle?"

"Stay close to me." Edward whispered as they walked further into the room. "This must be where they made the Philosopher's Stone."

"Very good." A deep and gravely voice answered.

Caden whipped around, immediately taking on a defensive position. At first, he thought the person was Al, but on closer inspection, he realized there were slight differences in the armor. "Who are you?"

"I was instructed to guard this place." The suit of armor answered. "You may call me number 48. My orders are to eliminate anyone that trespasses. I'm sorry to have to do this to a couple kids."

Edward moved in front of Caden. "Stay back, Caden. You aren't ready to fight with alchemy just yet."

Caden was about to argue, but he knew Edward was right. He obediently scooted closer to the wall and watched closely as the two began fighting. "Be careful, Edward. Winry will kill you if you mess up your arm again."

Edward grinned tightly. "I know." He managed to land a kick on his opponent and was surprised at the hollow sound. "You're hollow on the inside."

Number 48 straightened slightly. "How did you know?"

"I spar with a guy like you all the time." Edward answered. "It makes me sick to know there are other idiots beside me that would bind a soul to a suit of armor."

"I see you know a great deal." Number 48 said. "Let me tell you a little more about myself then. 48 was my number on death row. When I still had a body of flesh and blood, I was the killer known as Slicer. I was supposed to have been killed two years ago, but my new employers needed my skills. I was pulled off of death row and now I serve as their guard dog."

"Does that mean there's a seal that connects your soul to you?" Caden piped up without thinking. He flinched back and the wilting glare he received from Edward. "Sorry. I'll shut up now."

Number 48 nodded and lifted the helm of his helmet to reveal the blood seal. "If you destroy this, you'll destroy me."

"How kind of you to show me your weak point." Edward grinned.

"I like a little danger when I fight." Number 48 answered.

"So, would you just let us go then since you're being so nice?" Caden asked.

Number 48 laughed. "A serial killer never lets his prey escape. Once I'm done with this kid, I'll deal with you."

Caden stuck his tongue out at the serial killer. He wasn't afraid. He knew that Edward would win. He sat down on the floor and watched the fight with keen eyes. He wanted to learn how to fight just like Edward. He wanted to be able to protect others, especially those that were important to him. He didn't want to lose anyone ever again. He grinned when Edward finally managed to knock Number 48's helmet off his body. "All right, Edward!" He ran over to Edward's side while Edward picked up the helmet.

"Tell me everything you know about the Philosopher's Stone." Edward ordered the helmet.

Caden frowned when Number 48 began laughing. "What's so funny? You can't win now so you better start talking."

"I haven't lost yet." Number 48 said coolly.

Caden heard the sound of metal behind them. "Edward, watch out!" Caden shoved Edward to the side as the body of armor brought the sword slicing towards him. Caden couldn't help crying out when the sword sliced his side.

"Caden!" Edward tossed the helmet back towards the body and helped the little boy up. "You okay?"

"Yeah…" Caden said quietly. He could feel the blood rushing out of his side, but he didn't dare look down. He didn't want to see all his blood dripping to the ground below. "How did he do that? I thought that once the head was separated from the body, the body wouldn't be able to do anything."

Number 48 chuckled. "Who said that only one soul could be bound to the armor?"

"When they caught Slicer, they found out that there were two killers." The body said casually. "Allow me to follow my brother's example and show you where my blood rune is." The body pointed to the back collar of the suit of armor where his seal was. "Now then, let's begin round two!"

Edward knocked Caden over to the side so the little boy was out of the way. "Riza is going to kill me for letting you get hurt."

Caden yelped, landing roughly on his back. He sat up and weakly held his side. "Be careful, Edward!" Now, he was beginning to get worried. Edward had lost a lot of blood from the first fight and he could tell the teen was having difficulty even standing up. "Edward!" Caden screamed when Edward was pinned down to a pillar. He closed his eyes, not wishing to see his friend killed.

The sound of breaking metal made Caden open his eyes warily. He was surprised to see the suit of armor lying partially destroyed on the floor, though the seal was still intact. Caden shakily stood up and went over to Edward. "You did it!" He helped Edward to sit down on the ground.

"You guys better tell me everything you know now." Edward said to the two brothers.

"We won't." Number 48 said. "Hurry up and destroy us."

Caden glared over at the helmet. "No way! Edward isn't a murderer."

"I didn't say kill us. How could we possibly be human with these bodies? That's why I said destroy, not kill."

Edward placed a shaking hand on Caden's shoulder. "If I were to believe that you guys weren't human, then I wouldn't be able to say that my own brother is human either. My younger brother is human and so are you two. That's why I won't kill you."

Number 48 suddenly began laughing. "How ironic. It's only after our bodies are gone that someone finally treats us as humans. I'll tell you everything I know, kid. I don't know anything about the Philosopher's Stone, but I can tell you about the people who made it and the people that told us to guard this place."

"Who?" Caden asked, trying to contain the excitement in his voice. His face fell when Number 48 was suddenly speared on the end of a very beautiful, but frightening woman's sharp nails. He wasn't sure how she'd managed to extend her gloved nails like that, but Caden's attention didn't stay on her for long. His attention was focused solely on the man standing next to her.

"Caden?" Edward moved protectively in front of him.

"What's the Fullmetal brat doing here?" The man groaned in annoyance. His gaze landed on Caden who was trembling behind Edward. His grin suddenly widened. "Hey, I remember you. You've gotten a lot bigger since the last time I saw you. Nice to see you again, kid."

Before Edward could stop him, Caden leapt up and charged at the man. "Caden!"

Caden couldn't get a breath of air in from the punch the man had sent into his stomach. He glared hatefully up at the man from the ground. "Y-You killed…"

"Envy, don't kill him." The woman chastised.

"I know, Lust." Envy crouched down in front of Caden and patted his head. "You're old man was a stubborn one. Looks like he passed that on to you."

Caden fought to stay awake, but he could barely keep his eyes open from the blood he had already lost and the punch Envy had given him. Everything suddenly went black and the last thing Caden saw was Envy laughing at him.

* * *

Caden woke up to white walls and the strong smell of sterilized floors. "Am I in a hospital?" He mumbled weakly.

"Yeah." Edward answered, rolling over to Caden in his wheelchair. "How are you feeling?"

Caden shrugged weakly. "My side hurts a little, but I'm okay. What about you? You got more beat up then I did."

"I'll live." Edward said with a grin. His face turned sober when he noticed the serious look on Caden's face. "That guy killed your father."

Caden nodded, not daring to speak. He could feel the tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. "He's a monster. He killed my dad and he's the reason my mom is dead. I'll never forgive him." He blinked when he felt a gentle hand on his head.

"Winry's coming to fix my arm soon." Edward said. "You want to see her again?"

Caden nodded and wiped his eyes. "Edward, will you teach me to fight? I don't want to be useless like that ever again."

Edward hesitated before nodding. "As soon as we get out, I'll start training you. Don't expect me to go easy on you just because you're a kid."

Caden couldn't help the grin on his face. "Yes sir!" Next time he saw Envy, he was going to fight him, and he was going to win.


	10. President Bradley

**Gahhh! I've been so bad about updating these past few months! I'm so sorry! Please forgive me for being a horrible author!**

**Sakura02: Edward let Caden come with them because Caden secretly gave him the puppy eyes. No one says no to Caden's puppy eyes. Haha, Caden will use any excuse to duke it out with Roy.**

**Thieving Alchemist: Haha, I'm sure if Edward had known that there were psycho killer suits of armor in the lab, he wouldn't have let Caden come along. **

**Thank you: bored411, SaiyukiSucker, Sexii-chan, Cupcake-chan, and AnaFey20 for reviewing.**

* * *

"Caden, I really think you should go back to your room." Maria said softly.

Caden stubbornly shook his head and remained seated beside Edward's bedside. He really wasn't hurt that badly anymore. His side still hurt from where he'd been cut, but other than that he was fine. "I wanna see Winry again. She's going to get mad when she sees you all bandaged up like this."

"It's not my fault Armstrong attacked me!" Edward grouched, recalling the ferocious hug he had received when Armstrong had learned about his injuries.

Caden perked up at the sound of the door opening. He ran over and hugged the blonde girl excitedly. "Hi, Winry!"

"Edward, you let Caden get hurt!" Winry shouted angrily, holding the little boy close to her side. "I can't believe you actually took him with…what happened to you?" She screamed, noticing how much Edward was bandaged up for the first time.

"Major Armstrong attacked him." Caden answered.

Winry walked over to Edward's bed with Caden still attached to her. She played nervously with her fingers. "Even without the injuries from Major Armstrong, you still got hurt really badly. It's all because your automail failed you…"

Edward looked frantically at Winry and then at all the pointed looks he was receiving from everyone around him. "N-No! The reason it broke was because I was too rough on it! Your work was flawless as always. Plus, when my arm broke, it saved me from getting even more beat up! So, don't worry about it!"

Winry suddenly grinned brightly. "Of course it wasn't my fault! Now, we need to discuss my fee for coming all the way out here!"

Edward snarled and turned to Caden. "Caden, don't ever trust girls! They're evil, vile creatures that will suck the life from you! Understand?"

Caden blinked and nodded slowly. "Um…okay. I won't try and steal Winry from you if that's what you're worried about, Edward."

"That's not what I meant!" Edward shrieked.

"You mustn't get so excited, Edward Elric." Armstrong said sagely. "You need to nurse yourself back to health. To do that, you need plenty of rest and nutrients."

Edward rolled his eyes. "I know that."

Caden looked over at the almost empty food cart. "You didn't drink your milk, Edward." He pointed out.

Edward turned away to avoid the irritated glared Winry sent him. "I hate milk…"

"That's why you're always going to be short!" Winry howled.

"Shut up!" Edward shouted. "I refuse to drink some opaque white liquid that a cow secreted!" He looked up when he heard the sound of someone drinking. "Caden, don't drink that vile stuff! It's evil!"

Caden stuck his tongue out at Edward before taking another swig of the milk. "You're just mad because I'm going to be taller than you when I get older!" He laughed at Edward's annoyed shout. He looked up just in time to see Al quietly slip out of the room.

After Armstrong left, Winry got to work on Edward's arm. Caden sat in the chair beside Edward's bed and watched Winry working. He felt himself nodding off, Winry and Edward's voices fading in and out as he drifted off to sleep. When he finally woke up, everyone was gone except for Al who had returned. "Where'd Winry go?"

Edward looked up from glaring at the food tray in front of him. "You were asleep a really long time. Hughes dragged her off like a creeper to his house to stay at his place last night. It's already morning."

Caden looked at what Edward was glaring at and rolled his eyes. "Just drink the milk, Edward. It won't kill you."

"I won't drink what I don't like." Edward said, chewing on his food irritably. He glanced over at Al. "It may not look like it, but I am growing. Everyone keeps calling me small, though. You know, Al, you're lucky you have a big body…"

"I didn't ask for this damn body!" Al suddenly shouted, jumping up from his seat just as Winry and Hughes walked in.

Caden looked between both brothers in shock. He'd never seen Al get so angry before.

Edward looked down at his food. "I'm sorry, Al. You're right…all of this is my fault. That's why I want to get you back in your original body as soon as possible…"

"Is there really any guarantee that we can get our bodies back?" Al hissed.

"Of course there is!" Edward said, smiling nervously at Al. "You've just gotta believe me…"

"Believe you?" Al snapped. "What am I supposed to believe in this empty shell of a body. According to theory, humans are made up of a physical body, mind, and soul. Has anyone been able to verify that through experiment, though? When you really think about it, memories are nothing more than data. It's possible to artificially create them. You told me once that there was something you were too afraid to tell me. Maybe you just wanted to tell me that my memories and soul are fake and artificially made. Can you really prove that someone named Alphonse Elric ever existed? What do you have to say to that, Brother?"

Edward stood up abruptly from his bed. "That's what you've been keeping bottled up inside this whole time?" He walked out of the room without waiting for an answer.

"Edward, wait up!" Caden shouted, chasing after Edward through the hallways. He finally caught up to him just as Edward was going up to the roof. He followed Edward over to the railing of the roof. The two stood there and looked out over Central City. "Are you okay, Edward?"

Edward just put a hand on Caden's head and said nothing. When he heard Alphonse walking up behind them, he finally spoke up. "You know, Al, I'm feeling a little out of shape since we haven't sparred in a while."

Caden watched as the two brothers were suddenly fighting. Well, Edward was fighting and Alphonse was trying to get a word in edgewise until they both finally collapsed. He stayed back by the railing while the two brothers talked to each other. Once they'd bumped fist together, Caden walked over and leaned over the two of them. "You guys are weird."

"Shut up and get down here, kid." Edward yanked Caden down so he was laying beside both Edward and Alphonse. The laid there in silence for a few minutes until Hughes called them back into the hospital, demanding an explanation of everything that had happened at the lab.

Edward told most of the story, drawing pictures of the symbols and two strange people they'd seen at the lab. He hesitated when he held up the drawing of the male. "I don't remember anything after this guy knocked me out."

"What's wrong, Caden?" Hughes asked kindly, noticing how Caden was shaking.

Caden rubbed his arm irritably. "He's the one that killed my dad. I'll never forgive him for what he did." He blinked when he felt a hand on his head. He looked up into Hughes's serious face.

"Don't ever go down the path of revenge." Hughes said quietly. "If you do, you should dig two graves; one for your enemy and one for yourself. Do you understand, Caden?"

Caden nodded slowly. "Yes sir."

Hughes smiled and patted his head. "Good."

They were all so absorbed in talking about all the new information they had discovered and what their next possible move should be, that none of them noticed the door opening.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything." A tall, dark haired man stood in the doorway, grinning at all of them.

Caden looked first at the man and then at the shocked looks on everyone's faces. "Edward, who is that?"

"That's Fuhrer President King Bradley!" Edward exclaimed.

Bradley chuckled and waved his hand dismissively. "At ease, gentlemen. There's no need to make a fuss. Major Armstrong, I hear you've been doing quite a bit of snooping into military command. Edward Elric, you're searching for the Philosopher's Stone, aren't you. How much do you know? A great deal depends on your answer." The air was tense for a beat until Bradley began laughing.

Caden shuddered. Even though Bradley was making it sound like a joke, there was something about the man that bothered Caden. There was something not quite right about him. He flinched when he felt a heavy hand on his head. He looked up and was greeted by the grinning face of Bradley. "Yes sir?"

Bradley simply smiled at him and straightened. "I feel you are all individuals I can trust, so I'm giving you this order for your own safety. I will not allow you to stick your necks into this any further or to speak of this to anyone. This is a case where we cannot tell friend from foe, even in the military. Trust no one. You must be discreet in your actions and assume the entire military is your enemy. However, when the time comes, I will call on you. Make sure you're prepared." He looked expectantly down at Caden. "Is that clear, Caden Hawkeye?"

Caden nodded slowly. "Yes sir."

Edward looked at Caden curiously. He had never heard the little boy being so stiff and formal before. He was going to comment on it when the sound of people shouting for Bradley reached them from the hallway.

Bradley chuckled and slipped over to the window. "I slipped away from my pesky bodyguards earlier. I must be off now. Goodbye."

"He's weird." Caden said as Bradley disappeared around the corner of the hospital, his laughter still coming in through the window.

Winry poked her head into the room. "What's wrong with all of you? Even the guys outside are acting weird. I got those tickets you wanted, Edward."

"Where are we going now, Edward?" Caden asked excitedly, eager to get out of the hospital.

"Dublith." Alphonse answered, pointing to the town on a map.

Winry squealed in delight suddenly. "Rush Valley is right before that place! It's the Mecca for all auto-mail mechanics! Edward, take me with you!"

"I don't see the harm." Alphonse said before Edward could say something snippy to Winry.

"Yay! Winry is coming with us!" Caden cheered while Winry rushed off to call Pinako.

* * *

The group was on the train bright and early the next day. Caden was still half asleep and barely had the energy to wave goodbye to Hughes and the others as the train pulled out of the station. "Why're we going to Dublith?" He asked.

"Well, Ed and I talked and we decided it'd be best if we went and talked to our teacher." Al said. He looked nervously over at Edward. "We're going to get killed when we get there."

Caden's eyes widened. "Why would your teacher kill you?"

"I'm scared!" Al whined.

"Just deal with it!" Edward snapped.


	11. Rush Valley

**Sorry I've been gone so long everyone! Been going through a lot these past few months. On the plus side, I did finish the fourth draft of my novel! Two more drafts before I start sending it out to agents. So excited!**

**Sakura02: Yeah, Rush Valley is definitely my least favorite part of the series. We're getting closer to Lin showing up, though :)**

**Thanks: Midnight Enforcer, SaiyukiSucker, and erica. phoenix16 for reviewing!**

* * *

"Is Winry always like this?" Caden asked, watching curiously as Winry ogled an auto-mail arm in a shop's window. He'd never seen the teenage girl so excited before.

Edward sighed in annoyance. "Unfortunately. Women are strange creatures we are not meant to understand, Caden."

Winry reluctantly pulled herself away from the window and went back over to the boys. "I can't believe I'm actually here in Rush Valley! I mean, this place is the auto-mail engineer's Mecca!"

Edward looked around at all the shop keepers and buyers around them. "I can see why. I've never seen so much auto-mail in one place in my entire life."

Caden stayed close to Edward the whole time. He looked up when he heard a rather loud and raucous group nearby. He peered around Edward and saw that there was indeed a large group circling around something. Caden tugged impatiently on Edward's hand. "What's going on over there?"

Edward pushed through the crowd with Al, Winry, and Caden following close behind him. A huge man sat confidently at a table while a much smaller man shouted for someone to challenge the man in an auto-mail arm wrestling contest. The group watched as one man stepped forward to try his hand at beating the champion.

Caden winced as the first man easily slammed the other man's auto-mail arm down onto the table and tore it out of the man's socket. He looked up dubiously at Edward. "You're not going to do something stupid, are you?"

The small man looked around the crowd. "Do we have any other challengers? How about you, young man? Never mind. I sprout like you wouldn't offer and challenge at all. Are there any adults?"

"He's doing something stupid." Caden sighed. He stood beside Edward as the older boy sat down in the chair across from the huge man. "Edward, are you sure you're going to be okay?"

Edward cackled evilly. "Just watch."

Al sighed and picked Caden up. He put the little boy up on his shoulder while they watched Edward prepare to arm wrestle the guy. "Caden, remember not to ever follow Edward's example."

Caden blinked. "I know." He let out a cheer of excitement when Edward easily slammed the man's arm down, shattering the auto-mail. "How'd he do that?"

"He used alchemy to turn the guy's arm into a weaker metal substance." Al answered.

Winry huffed and poked Edward in the cheek. "That's cheating!"

Caden grinned and high fived Edward. "You're so cool, Edward!"

A group of auto-mail engineers approached Edward and began inspecting his arm closely. "I've never seen a design like this before. It's very intricate. Very nice." One of them muttered.

Winry's chest puffed up proudly. "I made it!"

Caden blinked from his spot on Al's shoulder as poor Ed was stripped down to his boxers by the curious engineers. "I'm really glad I don't have any auto-mail. These people are crazy."

Eventually, the group of engineers dispersed. Edward grumbled and mumbled while he put on his pants. He paused and began frantically patting his pockets. "It's gone!"

"What's gone?" Caden asked worriedly.

"My silver watch that proves I'm a state alchemist is gone!" Edward howled furiously. Quickly, he put the rest of his clothes on and stormed over to the nearest stall.

Al, scooped Caden back up and put him on his shoulder. Winry was close on their heels as they finally caught up to Edward. Edward told the two men running the stall what he was missing.

"Sounds like something Paninya would do." One of the men said. "She likes to pickpocket tourists."

"Do you know where she is?" Edward asked. "She took something very important to me."

The men looked thoughtfully at each other. "We can tell you on one condition; you let us have a look at your auto-mail."

Edward snarled and made his arm into a blade. He pointed it threateningly at the two men. "Where is she?"

"West Alley." The two men answered quickly. "She sales her stuff at The Glotz Pawn Shop."

"So cool!" Caden cheered as they made their way to the pawn shop.

Winry frowned over at Edward. "Stop setting a bad example for Caden! He's very impressionable!"

Caden waited outside with Winry and Alphonse while Edward stormed into the building. "Should we really let him go in there by himself?" He flinched as Edward's furious shouts came through the open door. "I think he needs help."

Winry chuckled. "He sure does."

Edward stuck his head out of the pawn shop, his face contorted in anger. "Al, we're going after her! Caden, you stay with Winry!"

Caden pouted as Edward and Alphonse ran off. "I want to help too. Why won't Edward let me help them?"

Winry gave Caden a small smile and patted his head. "I think he's feeling really guilty about what happened at the lab. He just doesn't want you to get hurt like that again."

Alphonse suddenly came jogging back over to Winry and Caden. "I need you two to come with me. We've got a plan to catch that girl." Alphonse led them a little ways away from the pawn shop and into a more open area. He quickly explained the plan to Caden and Winry. "Caden, can you draw the transmutation circle?"

Caden's eyes lit up and he almost let out a squeal of joy. "Can I? Really? Can I make the cage too when she gets over here?"

"I think it'd be better if I did that part." Alphonse said slowly. "I don't think you're quite ready for making big things like that just yet."

"Okay." Caden said reluctantly. He plopped down on the ground and began very carefully drawing the transmutation circle. Once he was done, he stepped back to examine his work. He looked hopefully up at Alphonse with wide eyes.

Alphonse looked at the circle for a moment before nodding his head in approval. "That's perfect, Caden. Don't worry; We'll keep training you. I bet you'll be able to do things like this really soon."

Caden grinned at Alphonse. The three stood and waited patiently for Edward to drive Paninya towards them. "Is he going to be able to get her all the way over here?"

Winry grinned, peering through a telescope at Edward chasing the pickpocket. "If anyone can do it, Edward can."

After a few more minutes, the girl came skipping happily out of shop, Edward's shouts of anger coming from inside the shop. Alphonse quickly got into position once the oblivious girl stepped into the transmutation circle. "I've been waiting for you."

Caden's eyes lit up as he watched Alphonse create a large cage to trap the girl in. "That's so cool, Al!"

Edward cackled evilly, running over to join the others. "I've got you now, woman!"

"You sound like a bad guy, Edward." Caden said with a shudder.

Paninya tapped at the bars of cage curiously. "You guys might want to step back if you don't want to get hurt." She brought her leg up, a knife cutting out from her pant leg and slicing the bars off.

Caden's mouth dropped open. "She's got an auto-mail leg!"

"Actually, both my legs are auto-mail." Paninya said. "My other leg has a 1.5 inch carbine in it."

Caden fell to the ground when she shot at them. He looked over and was relieved to see that neither Alphonse or Edward were hurt. "Hey, she's getting away again!"

Winry reached out and grabbed the girl's arm. "You aren't going anywhere!"

"Way to go, Winry!" Edward cheered as he, Alphonse, and Caden rushed over to the two girls.

Winry's eyes suddenly lit up. "I couldn't possibly let you leave before seeing your auto-mail!"

Caden sighed while Edward let out a shocked yelp. "Girls are really, really weird."


	12. A New Life

**Sakura02: Hmmm…we will need to discuss this!  
SaiyukiSucker: Thank you! I'm glad you enjoy the story!  
FollieOfMadness: Yeah, sorry about that…I hope you'll continue to enjoy the rest of the story, though!  
TheCaramelSecrets: Hmmm, I'm not sure what kind of alchemist Caden will ultimately become. I do like your idea, though. I'll have to think on it some more!  
Authoresses of the Red Rose: I'm not sure if I'll do a Hellsing baby or not. I've gotten a few request for one, but I've yet to read/watch the series. I do have quite a few more baby stories planned, though!**

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"No, no, no. You've got to bring your hands together in the middle." Edward corrected Caden's form sternly. He glared down at the circle in front of him. It wasn't a complete alchemy circle, just a large circle with a dot in the center for Caden to focus on. "If you don't, your creation is going to come out wrong."

Caden pouted, but nodded his head. "Okay." He tried again, looking up at Edward for his approval.

Edward nodded and grinned proudly. "Much better." He glared over at where Winry was still looking over Paninya's automail.

Winry finally stopped muttering to herself. She grinned at the very confused girl. "Paninya, you have to introduce me to whoever made your automail!"

Paninya hesitantly nodded her head. A wicked smirk suddenly stretched across her face, which made Caden extremely nervous. "Well, he lives out in the middle of nowhere. So, you'll need a guide. I'll be your guide if you'll let me off the hook for pickpocketing your friend."

"No problem!" Winry declared.

Edward snarled. "Are you joking? We're turning her over to the military police. She's a menace to this town!"

"That kid ruined my store!" One shop owner suddenly appeared, pointing an angry finger at Edward.

Alphonse picked Caden up and put him on his shoulder. There was now a whole mob of angry store and home owners alike yelling at Edward to fix the damage he had caused. "See? This is why you shouldn't follow Edward's example, Caden. You'll wind up having to fix lots of things."

Caden pouted and nodded. "I guess you're right. It was still really cool how he caught her, though." He hopped off of Alphonse's shoulder and went over to the two girls. He looked suspiciously up at Paninya. "How far away does this guy live?"

Paninya stared down at him. "It's pretty far, and it's pretty deep in the mountains. You guys should probably travel light."

Winry grinned excitedly. "We'll just leave our luggage at our lodgings then." She picked Caden up and swung him around. "I can't wait to meet this guy!" She sang.

Caden looked pleadingly over at Edward and Alphonse for help, but all he received was a shrug. He puffed his cheeks out in irritation. Girls were definitely weird.

xXx

"It's hot. Are we there yet? I'm thirsty." Caden whined, resting his head on Alphonse's. He was once again perched up on Alphonse's shoulder, since his tiny legs made it difficult for him to keep up. When Edward had teased him about, Caden had promptly pointed out that he was tall for his age, and that Edward was not.

"He really does live in the middle of nowhere." Winry commented offhandedly. She dragged Edward along behind her.

Paninya nodded her head. "He says he can find better ores out here. That, and he didn't want to live in town. He's not exactly the biggest people person."

Edward snarled and yanked himself out of Winry's grip. "Would you just give me my watch back?" He howled furiously.

Paninya grinned and skipped on ahead. "The deal was that I'd show you guys the way, and then you'd let me off the hook. I'm just keeping the watch as a hostage for right now."

"I didn't make a deal with you!" Edward snapped.

Caden squinted against the bright sunlight. He pointed to something in the distance. "Is that where he lives?"

Paninya nodded excitedly. She ran on ahead of the group before any of them could say anything.

The group walked into the house just after Paninya. A nice enough looking man jumped up in surprise when he saw Alphonse. "Wow, he's huge!" His eyes drifted to Edward. "And he's so small."

"Calm down, Edward." Caden soothed, patting Edward's fuming head while Alphonse held his brother back.

The man smiled apologetically. "Sorry. I'm Ridel. That's my wife, Satera, in the kitchen." He motioned over to an older man. "That is my father, Dominic."

Satera smiled at the group. "Why don't I make everyone some tea."

Caden hopped off of Alphonse, but stayed close to the Elric brothers. Winry was already deep in conversation with Dominic about automail, even before the tea was served. While Dominic, Winry, and Paninya sat at a small table, Caden stood with the others around Satera, whom was seated in a rocking chair. Caden stared curiously at her stomach, before poking it. "Your stomach is huge."

"Caden!" Alphonse protested. "That's not polite."

Satera smiled and waved her hand dismissively. "It's because I'm pregnant. The baby is due in two weeks."

Caden frowned looking closer at Satera's stomach. He rested his head on her stomach, and gasped when something kicked him. "It's moving!" He yelped, jumping back and standing beside Edward.

"You know, you were in your mother's stomach once." Edward said, poking Caden in the forehead. He didn't miss the way Caden's face fell at the word 'mother'. Before he could ask Caden what was wrong, Winry called him over. He had a sinking feeling in his stomach that this wouldn't end well for him.

Caden couldn't help laughing at poor Edward. The teen had been once again stripped down to his underwear while Dominic examined his automail. "Edward, you should put your pants back on."

Winry took a deep breath and bowed low to Dominic, ignoring Edward yelling at Caden. "Please take me on as your apprentice!"

"No." Dominic said flatly. "I don't take on apprentices." He snarled as Winry continued begging him. "All of you scram!"

Caden jumped as a loud crack of lightning lit up the sky. Rain was suddenly pouring down on the roof, and the loud claps of thunder shook the entire house. Caden looked up at Ridel nervously. "We don't really have to leave, do we?"

Ridel smiled. "Of course not. You can all stay until the storm clears."

Satera smiled as Dominic went back to his workshop with Edward and Alphonse close on his heels. "I'll make some tea for everyone. Caden, would you like to help me?"

Caden nodded slowly. "Yes ma'am." He quickly followed after her into the kitchen. He sat down on a small crate in the corner of the kitchen. He watched Satera hum quickly while she sat the kettle on to boil. "You'll be a good mom."

Satera beamed over at Caden. "I certainly hope so. Where's your mother, Caden? I didn't get the impression that Edward or any of the others were your siblings."

"They're not." Caden answered slowly. He kicked his feet nervously against the crate. Flashes of his mother a father flitted through his head, and he bit his lip. "My mom and dad are dead. I'm supposed to be living with my cousin, but I'm traveling with Edward to learn alchemy."

Satera's smile disappeared. She knelt in front of Caden and smoothed his hair down. "I'm so sorry, Caden." She held his hands in hers and locked eyes with him. "I know that you must miss them terribly. You're very lucky, though. You have quite a few people that love you."

Caden managed to crack a small smile. He thought about Edward and Alphonse, both of whom he looked up to like older brothers. Winry was definitely a good friend, if not a bit on the strange side. He then thought about Riza. He missed his cousin quite a bit, and he really hoped he could see her soon. He wanted to show her how much better he'd gotten at alchemy. He also needed to make sure Colonel Mustang was keeping his hands off of her. He gasped when Satera suddenly doubled over. "What's wrong? Winry! Help!"

Winry ran into the room with Ridel and Paninya close behind her. "What's wrong?" She asked. All four of them crouched worriedly around Satera.

"The baby's coming." Satera groaned out.

Dominic burst through the door with the Elric brothers. "What's going on?"

"I thought the baby wasn't due for a few more days!" Ridel said, helping Satera up.

Satera groaned again. "I've been feeling funny since this afternoon…"

"I'll go into town and get a doctor." Dominic declared, pulling on his raincoat. He was only gone for a few minutes when he came back and exclaimed that the bridge had been destroyed by lightning. "There's another path, but it'll take me longer." He left as quickly as he could to get the doctor.

"Can you hold the baby in until the doctor gets here?" Caden asked.

Satera smiled tensely and patted Caden's head. "I'm not going to hit you because you're little and you don't know any better. But no, this baby is going to be born when it's ready to be born."

Caden and Paninya stayed in the room while Ridel and the others went out into the hallway to discuss what they should do. Caden blinked as the sound of water hitting the floor broke the relative silence.

Paninya let out a shriek and rushed out into the hallway. "There's water!" She babbled out.

Caden stuck his head out of the room, his arms flailing around frantically. "There was a whole bunch, and it all came out of Satera! Why's there water coming out of her?"

Winry smiled nervously. "That means the baby is ready to be born." She sighed as everyone began panicking. "All of you shut up!" Once everyone had frozen, she cleared her throat. "I'll deliver the baby."

"You can do that?" Caden asked curiously.

Winry shrugged. "I don't have any experience, but we don't have any other options right now." She pulled an apron on, setting her face into one of determination. "Ed and Al, you guys boil some water. Lots of water. Paninya, gather as many towels as you can. Ridel, get some alcohol for disinfectant. Caden, get her some drinking water."

Caden pouted. His job seemed so unimportant compared to everyone else's. He did as he was told, and brought Satera a glass of water. "Here you go."

Satera smiled gratefully and took a deep drink. She reached out and patted Caden's head. "Thank you. Why don't you go wait outside with Elric and Alphonse."

Caden did as he was told. The door shut behind him, leaving only himself and the Elric brothers out in the hallway. Everything was relatively quiet in the room the others were in. Caden pressed his ear against the door and immediately regretted it. Satera was screaming and shouting about how she was going to die. Caden huddled in between the Elric brothers against the opposite wall. "I'm scared…"

"Me too." Edward quickly agreed.

"It's moments like these where all you can do is pray." Alphonse muttered.

Caden buried his head against Edward's side. The combination of thunder and Satera's screaming was too much for the little boy. When Paninya came out of the room, she was pale as a ghost. "What's wrong?"

Paninya collapsed to the ground. "Blood…so much blood…"

Caden, Edward, and Alphonse rushed into the room. The first thing they saw was Winry trembling on the floor. Shakily, Winry pointed over to the bed. A grin split across Caden's face when he saw Ridel holding the crying baby and Satera smiling weakly. "The baby is okay!" He cheered.

Caden went over to the side of Satera's bed, while Edward and Alphonse went to the opposite. Caden reached up and gently touched the baby. "He's really soft."

Satera smiled sleepily. She was so focused on her baby, she didn't pay any attention to Edward carrying Winry out. She was grateful for the brief break while Ridel gave the baby a bath. "Caden, could you get me my water glass?"

Caden quickly took the half empty glass off the nightstand and handed it to Satera. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine." Satera assured. She smiled when Ridel came back in and handed her the baby.

Dominic arrived moments later with the doctor in tow. Once everyone had explained what had happened, and the doctor confirmed that Satera and the baby were all right, Dominic began doting on the little baby.

"I liked him better when he was scary…" Caden muttered, taking up his perch on Alphonse's shoulder.

Dominic cleared his throat and looked at Winry. "Thank you for everything you did."

Edward grinned wickedly. "So, since you're in such a good mood now, how about considering taking on an apprentice."

"No." Dominic said firmly. "I'm grateful for what you did, but that is another matter entirely. I don't take on apprentices. Besides, a young girl shouldn't make her family worry. You should go home."

"He's stubborn." Edward grouched out.

"He's right, though." Caden piped up. "Poor Pinako-baasan would be all alone…" He blinked as Dominic suddenly backed into the wall. "What's wrong?"

He looked nervously over at Winry. "P-Pinako?"

Winry nodded, confusion written on her face. "Yes. Pinako is my grandmother."

"Did something happen between you and Pinako-baasan?" Caden asked curiously.

"Don't ask me! You'll reopen my old wounds!" Dominic groaned out. "The memories of the Pantheress of Resembool are just too awful! I definitely want to take you on as an apprentice even less now!" He sighed when he saw the disheartened look on Winry's face. "What I meant was…if you must be trained, I suppose I could introduce you to a good engineer at the bottom of the mountain who might take you in."

Winry blinked, before smiling. "Could I still come visit and watch you work?"

"If you're gonna get in my way, don't bother coming here." Dominic snapped. "But, if you come up to visit my grandchild, I suppose I couldn't stop you. The pickpocket can come to if she changes her ways."

Caden grinned. "He's a softie…"

Ridel drew the group a map before sending them on their way. Goodbyes were quick, and the group was heading down the mountain before noon. They caught a carriage back to Rush Valley and quickly made their way to the train station.

"The train is leaving!" Caden yelped. He was roughly picked up and carried under Alphonse's arm as they tried to catch up to the train. Alphonse managed to climb on with Caden. "Edward, hurry up."

Edward leapt off the platform and on to the train. "You better train hard!" He shouted to Winry.

"You too!" Winry shouted back. She and Paninya stood on the train platform together. "You better take good care of Caden!"

The train ride was uneventful, which was a surprise to Caden. They finally arrived in the town of Dublith. Caden climbed up onto Alphonse's shoulder since the Elric brothers knew exactly where they were going. He blinked when they stopped in front of a butcher shop. "This is it?"

"Yup…" Edward said nervously. "I really hope our teacher isn't here?"

"Is your teacher really that scary?" Caden asked curiously.

"Hi, can I help you?" Someone said loudly behind them, causing the Elric brothers to scream in terror and Caden have to hold onto Alphonse for dear life. The man that had greeted them grinned. "Edward! Long time no see! You're really tall now!" He looked up and saw Alphonse and Caden for the first time. "Who're your friends?"

"It's me, Alphonse." Al said. "This is Caden."

The man grinned and waved at Caden. "You're here to see Izumi right? She just got back from her trip yesterday. I'll get the boss for you."

Caden hopped off of Alphonse's shoulder. He yelped and hid behind Alphonse as a giant burly man stepped out from the butcher shop. He suddenly wasn't so sure about meeting Edward and Alphonse's teacher. They seemed less scared of the giant man than the mere mention of their teacher. "I wanna go home…"


	13. Meeting Izumi

**Sakura02: Haha. Hooray for Greed!  
Authoresses of the Red Rose: Caden will be involved with the Homunculus in some way, but I can't tell you what it is just yet.**

**Thanks: Neusuada, FollieOfMadness, FireDragonX23 and fanficlover for your reviews!**

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The giant man stared at the three boys for a moment. "Ed, right?" He reached out with his hand when Edward nodded. He ruffled Edward's hair. "Good to see you. You've gotten big." The man turned his attention to Alphonse who immediately straightened up. "Who is this?"

"It's me, Alphonse!" Alphonse declared. "It's good to see you again."

The giant man patted Alphonse on the head. "I see. You've really gotten big." He looked down at Caden for the first time. "I don't remember you."

Caden immediately stood at attention. "My name is Caden Hawkeye, sir. I'm traveling with Edward to learn alchemy. It's nice to meet you."

"What a polite young man. My name is Sig." The man patted Caden on the head as well before turning his attention to a scoffing Edward. "Why the sudden visit?"

"We needed to talk to ask our teacher something." Edward said slowly.

Sig nodded. He quickly told Mason to watch the store and then led the three boys around back. When Edward asked how their teacher was doing, Sig hesitated. "She's doing all right, considering her condition." He paused outside an open window of the small house at the back of the shop. "Izumi, the Elric kids are here to see you, and they brought another kid with them. Can you get up?"

"I think so." A woman's soft voice came through the window. "I feel a little better today."

Caden frowned. The way Edward and Alphonse always seemed so afraid of their teacher, he'd been expecting some frightening sounding woman. The woman inside sounded so nice, and kind. Caden tugged on Edward's jacket until the older boy looked down. "Hey, what's wrong with your teacher?" He asked quietly. "Is she sick?"

"Well…" Before Edward could answer, he was knocked clear across the yard by a flying kick through the door.

Caden gaped at the tall and rather imposing looking woman standing in the doorway. He'd never seen someone so frightening before in his life. He tried his best to shrink back behind the door when the woman grabbed Alphonse's hand and flipped him over onto his back.

"Who are you?" She snapped, whirling around and pointing at Caden.

Trying not to look so terrified, Caden stepped out from behind the door. He looked Izumi straight in the eyes. "I'm Caden Hawkeye, ma'am. Edward is teaching me alchemy." He bowed low to her. "It's very nice to meet you. You're not as scary as Edward made you seem."

Izumi glared down at Caden for a moment. She then began laughing. "Is that so? I'm Izumi Curtis. It's nice to meet you, Caden…" She suddenly began coughing violently, blood dribbling out of her mouth.

"Are you okay?" Caden asked in alarm.

Sig quickly came over with a bottle of pills. "I told you not to strain yourself, Honey. Here are your pills, Dear."

Izumi quickly gulped down a few of the pills. She embraced her husband and sighed. "Oh, I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Come on. Don't talk like that." Sig responded, hugging his wife back.

Caden bit back a laugh. "You guys are weird."

Edward laughed nervously. "It's good to see you again…"

Izumi whapped Edward on the back of the head and laughed. "Welcome back, both of you. Come on inside."

Sig served everyone tea. Izumi stared down the Elric brothers. "So, what brings you all the way out here?"

Edward hesitated for a moment before speaking. "We were wondering if you knew anything about the Philosopher's Stone."

Izumi coughed again, though not much blood came out this time. "The Philosopher's Stone? I've never really had any interest in it…" She looked suspiciously at the two brothers. "Why would you want to know about something that's legend?"

"It's just for purely academic reasons!" Edward said quickly. He glared over at Caden when the little boy opened his mouth to protest.

Caden pouted and took a sip of his tea.

"Now that I think about it, we met an alchemist the last time we were in Central that knew a lot about the stone." Sig said thoughtfully.

Izumi tapped her chin. "Oh yeah…I think his name was…Hohenheim."

Caden didn't miss all the different emotions that flashed across Edward's face, or the way that Alphonse sat up straighter. He glanced over at Izumi and saw that she had noticed the change in the brothers as well.

"Was he tall, with blonde hair, glasses, and a beard?" Alphonse asked in a rush.

Izumi hummed thoughtfully. "Well, I couldn't really tell how old he was, but he was pretty good looking." She laughed when she noticed the deflated look on Sig's face. "Oh, come on, you're much better looking than he is!"

"So, he's alive." Edward said softly, more to himself than the others.

"Do you know him?" Caden asked curiously.

Alphonse looked over to Edward, waiting for his older brother to speak. When he didn't, Alphonse finally answered. "He's…our father."

Izumi looked at the two brothers curiously. "The father that left you all those years ago?"

"Isn't that good?" Caden asked. "Not that he left you guys, but we could ask him for…" Caden immediately closed his mouth when Edward slammed his fist angrily down onto the table. He'd only seen Edward angry like that once before, and that was when Nina had been changed into a Chimera.

"That guy…that's the last person I want to ask for help!" Edward grit out.

Caden shrunk back into his chair. He didn't understand how Edward would want nothing to do with his father. He didn't really understand what it felt like to be abandoned by a parent, but he would think he would want answers if one of his parents had ever abandoned him. Of course, he would give anything to have his mother and father back.

"Did our dad say anything about the stone?" Alphonse asked quickly.

"He said that his lifelong dream was about to come true." Izumi answered. "He seemed pretty happy about it."

The boys wound up staying for lunch. Mason joined all of them and the group sat around talking and eating. Edward seemed to have completely forgotten how he'd snapped earlier, and ruffled Caden's hair while they talked about how Caden had joined them. "He's a pain, and really stubborn too."

"Kind of like you." Caden said, sticking his tongue out at the older boy.

Izumi chuckled as Edward began yanking on Caden's cheek. "What else have you been up to."

"We got to see a baby being born." Alphonse piped up. "We even helped deliver the baby!"

"Freaking out doesn't count as helping." Caden said. He glanced over and noticed the worried looks on Sig and Mason's faces, and the way Izumi quietly sipped at her tea.

"Everyone pulled together, and the mother put her life on the line." Alphonse said, not seeming to notice what Caden had. "Humans are born with the blessings of everyone around them."

Izumi smiled and nodded. "That's right. That's how you boys were born as well. Be proud of your lives."

"Hey, why don't you have kids yet?" Edward asked curiously.

"Hey, Ed!" Mason shot up from the table, startling the Elric brothers and Caden. "Um…I bet you guys alchemy skills have gotten a lot better since the last time I saw you. Can you guys show me how much you've improved?"

Edward's eyes immediately lit up. "Sure! Whenever you like. We did lots of research, even once we returned to Resembool."

Alphonse puffed up. "We've even been training our bodies, just like you told us to, Teacher. We're even able to do large scale transmutations."

"Let's go outside and show them what we can do!" Edward said, immediately standing up and heading towards the door. "Come on, Teacher! Hurry up!" He, Al, and Mason were already heading out the door.

Izumi smiled up at Sig when she saw the worried look on his face. "I'm fine. It's good that they got to see a life being born." She blinked when she felt a small hand on hers. She looked down and realized for the first time that Caden was still in the room. She smiled and rested her hand over his.

"I'm sorry if Edward said something stupid." Caden said to Izumi. "He does that a lot."

Izumi gave Caden's hand a gentle squeeze. "There's nothing to apologize for. Now then," She stood up with Caden's hand still in hers. "why don't we go outside, and you can show me what Edward has taught you so far."

"Caden, you go first." Edward said once they were all outside.

"Okay…" Caden drew his transmutation circle. He clapped his hands together, and then placed them in the circle. He smiled in triumph when a little stone horse popped out of the ground. It was simple, but nicely detailed. He picked it up and held it up proudly for Edward and the others to see.

Izumi nodded approvingly. "Not bad at all. Keep practicing, and you'll be a master alchemist someday." She couldn't help smiling at the wide grin on Caden's face.

"Me next!" Alphonse drew his own transmutation circle. He created a giant horse with far more detail than Caden had been able to muster.

Izumi circled the horse and smiled. "You've gotten faster, and more accurate. Good work." Her smile faded away when Edward simply clapped his hands together to create his own garish horse. She didn't really hear Alphonse and Edward arguing about Edward's aesthetic. "You can work alchemy without a transmutation circle?"

"Yes…" Edward said nervously.

Izumi glared at him. "Don't lie to me, Ed. You've seen _that thing_, haven't you."

Edward was about to deny it. The look Izumi gave him immediately stopped him. "Yes."

"I should have expected that from a genius who became a state alchemist at your age." Izumi said harshly.

"I'm not genius." Edward said softly. "I just saw _that thing."_

Caden tugged on Alphonse's hand. "Al, what're they talking about?" All he received from Alphonse was a helpless shrug. He was just as lost as Caden was.

Edward looked over at Izumi. "Teacher, have you…"

"Mrs. Curtis!" Three boys ran towards the small group. They took one look at Sig and quickly skirted around him. "Mrs. Curtis, can you fix our toy train? It broke."

Izumi sighed and led the boys into the house. Caden, Edward, and Alphonse crowded around the door, watching the way Izumi interacted with the children. Caden immediately thought that Izumi would make a wonderful mother. He wondered why she didn't have any children, and why Mason had reacted so strongly when Edward brought it up.

The three boys rushed out with their fixed train. "Thanks, Mrs. Curtis. We'll come back when it breaks again!"

"I said don't break it!" Izumi snapped irritably. She straightened up when she heard her name being called softly. She smiled at the little girl standing in the yard with something in her arms. "What's wrong, Menny? Did you break something too?"

The little girl quickly shook her head. She held out the small cat in her arms. "Chiko won't move. Can you please fix her?"

Izumi took the cat from Menny. "I'm sorry. I can't. Chiko is already dead."

Caden climbed up onto his customary perch on Alphonse's shoulder. He remained quiet the whole time as Izumi helped Menny bury her cat. They all remained on the hill even after Menny had left with her mother.

Edward looked seriously over at Izumi. "Teacher, did you ever want to bring someone back to life."

"Yes." Izumi said softly, staring out at the setting sun. She finally glanced over at Edward. "Ed, are you glad that you're a dog of the military?"

Edward lowered his head. "I…I don't know when they'll command me to be a human weapon. I'm scared of doing that. But…there is something I have to do."

Caden clung tightly to Alphonse's helmet when Izumi roughly kicked Edward in the face. "Edward!"

"Don't be so arrogant when you know you've disobeyed my teachings, you little brat!" Izumi snapped. She glared at the two Elric brothers. Her face softened slightly when she looked at Caden. "Al, inside that armor, you're empty, and Ed, you're using automail."

Caden blinked in surprise. "How'd you know all that?"

"I figured it out when I threw Alphonse." Izumi answered. "Edward, your left and right steps sound different. Did you think I wouldn't notice? Don't insult me like that. What happened to the two of you? Tell me everything."

Edward and Alphonse exchanged a brief look. "Not here. It'll take a long time."

Izumi nodded and led them back to the house. They all sat around the table with Sig and Mason joining them. "Talk."

Edward launched into their story. He talked about everything they'd done after they'd finished training with Izumi.

Caden sat quietly beside Edward. He'd known that they'd tried to bring their mother back, but he'd never heard Edward explain it in such detail. His heart skipped a few beats when Edward spoke about losing his arm and leg. He glanced over at Izumi when Edward began talking about how he'd became a state alchemist, but she remained silent through the whole thing.

Once Edward was finished, Izumi folded her hands under her chin. "I told you time and time again to stay away from human transmutation. The students have made the same mistake as the teacher…"

"You've transmuted a human too?" Caden asked.

"They took some of my insides. You guys really are the biggest fools." Izumi said.

Caden sat in his chair and listened to Izumi insult the Elric brothers. All they did in response was apologize. He blinked when Izumi suddenly hugged the two boys. Seeing the three of them hugging made Caden think about his mother, and how much he missed her.

Izumi finally let go of the boys. "You three, come with me. She began walking back towards the main door of the house. "For you to be able to get a license at twelve years old…most people would call that a genius, Edward."

Edward shrugged, his face still crestfallen. "I'm really not. I just saw _that thing_ is all."

"If you're able to come back alive after seeing _that thing, _then that's more than enough proof that you're a genius. Even though you're my apprentice, I'm impressed by you. But, I still have to hold true to my morals. You two are expelled. I didn't teach you alchemy so you could end up like this. You're no longer my apprentices."

"That's not fair!" Caden protested. He was about to launch into a much longer rant, but Edward held his arm out to stop him. "Edward…it's not…"

"It's fine, Caden." Edward said, his face completely serious.

Izumi stared out the window, refusing to look at them. "The trains are still running. Go home."

Sig helped them to gather all of their things together. He began walking the three boys through the town towards the train station. "Izumi became deathly ill while she was pregnant with her first child. The child didn't make it to term, despite how hard Izumi fought. She kept saying 'I'm sorry' even though it wasn't her fault. That was when she started thinking about human transmutation, and you all know the results of that. I was a fool to not realize what she was up to sooner."

Alphonse was the first to notice that Caden had stopped walking. He turned and looked back at the little boy. "Caden? Caden, what's wrong?" He picked Caden up and put him on his shoulder. By then, Sig and Edward had turned around to see what was going on.

Caden held tightly to Alphonse's helmet. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, before finally speaking in a quiet voice that was most unlike him. "My mom tried to bring my dad back. That monster…Envy…he broke into our house one day and killed my dad. I don't know why. I think he was looking for something. My mom already knew a little bit of alchemy, but she started working a lot harder at it once my dad was killed. She sent me to the store one day. When I came back…" Caden broke off, choking back a sob as he remembered the horrible scene he'd come home to. "Whatever that thing was, it wasn't my dad. I don't know what that thing stole from my mom, but she died a couple days later. That's when I left to go look for Riza-neesan…"

Edward motioned for Alphonse to put Caden on the ground. As soon as Caden's feet touched the ground, Caden latched onto Edward and began crying. Edward rested a hand on Caden's head. "Hey, it's okay. None of that was your fault."

After a few minutes, Caden stopped crying. He looked sheepishly up at Edward with his puffy red eyes. "Sorry…it's just…everyone kept talking about human transmutation…and I couldn't stop thinking about it…" Once Caden had assured the others that he was okay, Sig led them the rest of the way to the train station. Caden was feeling rather tired. He sat up on Alphonse's shoulders and rested his head on Alphonse's helmet.

Sig appraised the three boys for a few moments. "Well, if you're ever in the area again, come by the shop."

"But…we've been expelled." Edward said in confusion, looking to Alphonse for conformation.

"Are you really that dumb?" Sig snapped, startling the three boys. "Don't you get it? Now that you no longer have a master-apprentice relationship, it means you can speak to one another as peers."

Edward slapped his forehead in irritation. "Al, Caden, what did we come to Dublith for anyway?" He grabbed up their luggage and began running back in the direction they'd come from. "We're going back, Mr. Curtis!"

"Don't let her kill you!" Sig called in response.

Caden yawned and rubbed his eyes, trying to wake himself up. "We're going to die, aren't we."

Edward shrugged and laughed. "Maybe."

Caden was glad Edward was the first one through the door. He certainly wouldn't have liked to have had a rather sharp knife thrown at his head. He quickly hopped off of Alphonse's shoulder when he knelt down on the ground.

"Teacher," Edward proclaimed, kneeling down alongside Alphonse. "we came here to try and get our original bodies back! We can't go home empty handed!"

"I told you to leave!" Izumi snapped, glaring at all three boys.

"No!" Edward shouted back.

Caden stood quietly to the side and watched the fire passing between Edward and Izumi. He really hoped that she wouldn't kill them. When she whipped over to him, he immediately held his hands up defensively. "I can't go anywhere. They have all the money."

Izumi sighed. "Idiots…Al, when you were transmuted, did you see The Truth?"

"I have no idea what The Truth is that you're talking about." Alphonse said uncertainly.

"Maybe the shock made you lose your memory…" Izumi whispered thoughtfully. "We have to get Al's memory back. After all, his entire body was taken. Think what he might have experienced."

"Oh yeah!" Edward exclaimed, confusing both Caden and Alphonse. "That guy talked about paying the 'toll'. I just paid my arm and leg, but with what Al paid, he must've been closest to The Truth!"

"So, if I can remember what happened, we'll have the answer!" Alphonse said excitedly.

Izumi shuddered. "The memory of _that thing_ though…"

"Is it really that bad?" Caden asked curiously.

"Not bad…" Edward said thoughtfully. "Just…really weird…"

"If there's a chance it'll help, I want to try!" Alphonse declared.

Izumi was quiet for a moment. "All right. I'll try to find a way to get your memories back. I'm going to ask an acquaintance of mine about this. In the meantime, you three must be hungry. Come help me fix dinner."

xXx

"I didn't realize it was so late." Edward sighed out as the three finally left the Dublith library.

Caden rolled his eyes. "You take forever when you start researching. I'm hungry! Can we go back to Izumi's and eat?"

"Why don't we take a shortcut?" Alphonse pointed down a dark alleyway.

Caden immediately felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. "I'm not that hungry…we can go the regular way."

Edward grinned wickedly down at the little boy. "Scared?"

Caden puffed his cheeks out. "No!" He stormed down the alley ahead of the two Elric brothers. He came to an abrupt halt when a strange man stood in his way. Immediately, he turned around and climbed straight up onto Al's shoulder. "Who're you?"

The man smiled at the three of them. "Spare some coins for a beggar?"

"No." Edward said flatly and continued running along with Alphonse right beside him. "Go get a job."

The man began running to catch up with them. "How can you be so cold-hearted? What about you sir, in the armor? Little boy?"

"Sorry, we don't have any money." Alphonse said, adjusting Caden on his shoulder so the little boy wouldn't fall off.

The man turned his attention back to Edward. "You're a state alchemist, aren't you? Your famous. You're the alchemist who transmuted his brother's soul."

Edward came to a screeching halt, Alphonse almost running into him. "You're starting to get on my nerves."

The man ignored Edward and smirked wickedly over at Alphonse. "You sir, don't have a body, do you?" His question was met with Edward's boot in his face. He was thrown into a row of trash cans. He sat up and held his nose. "You broke my nose! You can't just beat me up because I guessed right! If your parents could see…!" His sentence was cut off by a trash can to the face.

Caden climbed down from Alphonse's shoulder, and watched Edward beating the man. "You just don't know when to stop, sir."

Despite how badly beaten he was, the man laughed. "I'm guessing by how angry you are, I'm right. That suit of armor isn't human."

"Give it a rest, Mister." Alphonse said coldly. He picked the man up by the collar of his long cloak.

The man laughed sheepishly. "Sorry, that was rather childish of me…" A tail whipped out from underneath the man's cloak, knocking off Alphonse's head. He leapt out of Alphonse's arms. "There's no mistaking it now! You two are the ones that transmuted a soul!"

"Al!" Caden rushed over and caught Alphonse's head. He stayed back while Edward tried to stop the man from escaping. Despite Edward transmuting a giant wall, the man was able to climb over it and disappear. Caden handed Alphonse's head back to him. "Who was that?"

"I don't know…" Edward said quietly. He knew whoever that man was, and whatever he was up to, was absolutely no good for them. "Come on. Let's get back to Teacher's house."


End file.
